Paddyfield Pipit Anthus rufulus ranges Pakistan to Singapore. Nominate resident south Sichuan and Yunnan, winter visitor Guangxi and Guangdong. HABITAT & BEHAVIOR Grassy habitats, drier than Richard’s Pipit A. richardi. Stands erect less often than Richard’s Pipit. Before alighting rarely hovers; Richard’s Pipit often hovers. ID & COMPARISON Very similar to Richard’s Pipit. Crown and upperparts grey-brown with black streaking. Slightly greyer above and has less heavy streaking than Richard’s Pipit. Supercilium and lores buffish, but lores may show faintly black, rare in Richard’s Pipit. Black malar stripe broadens into triangle at base. Throat white; breast and flanks buffy-brown, with streaks on breast usually sparser than Richard’s. Median and greater coverts have pointy black centers with white or buff fringes. Long, white-edged tail slightly shorter than Richard’s. Tawny Pipit A. campestris occurs in China in Xinjiang only and has a black loral stripe and fainter streaking. Blyth’s Pipit A. godlewskii has more distinct wingbars. Upland Pipit A. sylvanus occurs almost exclusively on grassy mountainsides, is a stockier bird and is more heavily streaked above, and shows more streaking on flanks and less obvious wing bands. BARE PARTS Bill grey above, yellow below; thinner and pointier than Richard’s Pipit. Yellow legs and hind claw shorter than Richard’s. VOICE Song similar to Richard’s Pipit. Distinctive call chep-chep. — Craig Brelsford
THE PIPITS AND WAGTAILS OF CHINA
shanghaibirding.com has research on all 22 species in the family Motacillidae in China. Click any link:
Forest Wagtail Dendronanthus indicus
Western Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava
Eastern Yellow Wagtail M. tschutschensis
Citrine Wagtail M. citreola
Grey Wagtail M. cinerea
White Wagtail M. alba
Japanese Wagtail M. grandis
White-browed Wagtail M. maderaspatensis
Richard’s Pipit Anthus richardi
Paddyfield Pipit A. rufulus
Blyth’s Pipit A. godlewskii
Tawny Pipit A. campestris
Meadow Pipit A. pratensis
Tree Pipit A. trivialis
Olive-backed Pipit A. hodgsoni
Pechora Pipit A. gustavi
Rosy Pipit A. roseatus
Red-throated Pipit A. cervinus
Siberian Pipit A. japonicus
American Pipit A. rubescens
Water Pipit A. spinoletta
Upland Pipit A. sylvanus
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Daniel Bengtsson served as chief ornithological consultant for Craig Brelsford’s Photographic Field Guide to the Birds of China, from which this species description is drawn.
