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Bird name:

American Pipit

Anthus rubescensOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Wagtails and Pipits (Motacillidae)
Codes: Common Name: AMPI Scientific Name: ANTRUB ITIS Taxonomic No.: 554127

Breeding Location:

Mountains, Marshes, freshwater, Swamps, Grasslands



Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Solitary nester



Breeding Population:

Widespread



Egg Color:

Gray white with brown markings



Number of Eggs:

3 - 7



Incubation Days:

13 - 15



Egg Incubator:

Female



Nest Material:

Often no nest materials, but will sometimes use sticks and grass.



Migration:

Migratory



Splitbar

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General

American Pipit: Small pipit with gray-brown upperparts and pale buff underparts; breast is faintly to darkly streaked. Tail is dark with white edges. Bill is thin and long. Sexes are similar. Winter adult is browner. A walking ground dweller that bobs its tail continually.

Range and Habitat

American Pipit: Breeds from northern Alaska, Mackenzie, Canadian Arctic islands, and Newfoundland, south in mountains to California, New Mexico, and northern New Hampshire. Spends winters across the southern states and north to British Columbia and southern New England. Preferred habitats include Arctic and alpine tundra, beaches, barren fields, agricultural lands, and golf courses.

Breeding and Nesting

American Pipit: Three to seven gray white eggs, marked with brown, are laid in a cup of grass and twigs built on the ground sheltered by a rock or tussock. Incubation ranges from 13 to 15 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

American Pipit: Feeds on insects, spiders, mites, mollusks, crustaceans, and aquatic worms; forages while walking on the ground.

Vocalization

American Pipit: Song is a series of rapid "cheedle" notes. Flight call is a sharp "pip pipit."

Similar Species

American Pipit: Sprague's Pipit has fewer streaks on underparts, more streaks on back, paler face, and pink legs. Sparrows and Longspurs have thick, conical bills.

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Family Wagtails and Pipits (Motacillidae)_blue
Species Anthus rubescens
Length6.5 Inches
Wingspan10.5 Inches

American Pipit

American Pipit: Small pipit, gray-brown upperparts and pale buff underparts; breast is faintly to darkly streaked. Tail is dark with white edges. Black bill is thin and long. Legs and feet are black. It can be distinguished from sparrows by its longer bill and habit of wagging its tail up and down.

● Song: "chee-chee-chee", "cheedal-cheedal-cheedal", "pip"

● Foraging & Feeding: American Pipit: Feeds on insects, spiders, mites, mollusks, crustaceans, and aquatic worms; forages while walking on the ground.

● Breeding & nesting: American Pipit: Three to seven gray white eggs, marked with brown, are laid in a cup of grass and twigs built on the ground sheltered by a rock or tussock. Incubation ranges from 13 to 15 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: American Pipit: Sprague's Pipit has fewer streaks on underparts, more streaks on back, paler face, and pink legs. Sparrows and Longspurs have thick, conical bills.

Flight Pattern

Swift flight on series of rapidly beating wings.
American Pipit Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: American Pipit: Breeds from northern Alaska, Mackenzie, Canadian Arctic islands, and Newfoundland, south in mountains to California, New Mexico, and northern New Hampshire. Spends winters across the southern states and north to British Columbia and southern New England. Preferred habitats include Arctic and alpine tundra, beaches, barren fields, agricultural lands, and golf courses.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationWidespread
MigrationMigratory
Weight0.8 Ounces
UpperpartsX
Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.
BreastX
The upper front part of a bird.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX