Meadow Pipit

Anthus pratensis (Linnaeus, 1758)

Meadow Pipit, Anthus pratensis, is a passerine of the Motacillidae family that breeds across Iceland, western and northern Europe, and into western Russia. Outside the breeding season it moves to northern Africa and southern Asia. It is a bird of open country, especially grassland, moorland and heath, and it also uses low-intensity farmland. In winter it can be found on saltmarsh and sometimes in open woodland. It is a ground-feeding pipit, but it also uses shrubs, fence lines and wires as lookout points. The rear claw is notably long, which helps to separate it from similar species.

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Motacillidae — Wagtails, Pipits

Breeding range

Palearctic: Iceland through w, n Europe to w Russia

Nonbreeding range

n AF, s Asia