The American pipit, formerly known as the buff-bellied pipit, is a small songbird native to North America. It was first described by Marmaduke Tunstall in his 1771 Ornithologia Britannica. It was formerly classified as a form of the water pipit. The former subspecies, Siberian pipit, is now considered a distinct species.
Region
North America and Greenland
Typical Environment
Breeds across Arctic Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and in alpine zones of the western United States. In winter it moves to lower elevations and latitudes, occurring along ocean shores, river bars, estuaries, agricultural fields, and short-grass habitats from the southern United States into Mexico and Central America. Migrants pass broadly across the continent, often stopping in open, sparsely vegetated areas. Vagrants occasionally reach the Caribbean and northern South America.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 4300 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The American pipit, formerly called the buff-bellied pipit, is a slim, ground-dwelling songbird that wags its tail as it walks. It breeds on Arctic tundra and high alpine meadows and shifts to open coasts, fields, and river flats in winter. It was once lumped with the Water Pipit; the Siberian pipit is now treated as a separate species.
Egg, Collection Museum Wiesbaden
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
undulating with short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Often forages singly or in small loose groups; in winter can form larger flocks in open habitats. Nests on the ground in tundra or alpine meadows, typically concealed under vegetation or a tussock. Generally monogamous during the breeding season, with both parents feeding the young.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
Song is a light, tinkling series delivered from a perch or during an aerial display, often given in a rising-and-falling flight. Calls are thin, high 'tsip' notes frequently given in flight and over foraging grounds.
Plumage
Streaked brown upperparts with fine dark streaking on a buff to whitish breast and flanks; clean white outer tail feathers visible in flight. In breeding plumage, the face can be grayer with warmer buff underparts; nonbreeding birds look browner and more diffuse.
Diet
Primarily eats insects and other small invertebrates such as beetles, flies, ants, spiders, and caterpillars. During winter it supplements with seeds and small berries, and along shorelines will take marine invertebrates. Prey is mostly gleaned from the ground or low vegetation, with occasional short sallies.
Preferred Environment
Feeds in open areas with short or sparse vegetation, including tundra, alpine sod, sandbars, beaches, mudflats, grazed pastures, and plowed fields. Often forages along the edges of water and on exposed substrates where invertebrates are accessible.
