Blyth's pipit

Blyth's pipit
From Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary in East Sikkim, India
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Motacillidae
Genus: Anthus
Species: A. godlewskii
Binomial name
Anthus godlewskii
(Taczanowski, 1876)
First winter plumage.

The Blyth's pipit (Anthus godlewskii) is a medium-sized passerine bird which breeds in Mongolia and neighbouring areas. It is a long distance migrant moving to open lowlands in Southern Asia. It is a very rare vagrant to Western Europe.

This is a large pipit, but is an undistinguished looking species on the ground, mainly brown above and pale below. It is very similar to Richard's pipit, but is slightly smaller, shorter legs and a shorter dark bill. Its flight is strong and direct, and it gives a characteristic "pshee" call, higher pitched than Richard's.

In south Asia, in winter some care must be taken to distinguish this from other large pipits which winter or are resident in the area, including Richard's. This species is insectivorous.

This bird was named after the English zoologist Edward Blyth. The genus name Anthus is the Latin name for a small bird of grasslands. The specific godlewskii commemorates Polish farmer and field naturalist Wiktor Witold Godlewski[2]

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Anthus godlewskii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. ↑ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London, United Kingdom: Christopher Helm. pp. 49, 175. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.

Further reading

Identification

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