Water pipit © Tom Hibbert
Water pipit
This streaky brown bird is a winter visitor, occasionally found walking around the muddy margins of marshes.
Scientific name
Anthus spinolettaWhen to see
October to AprilSpecies information
Statistics
Length: 15.5-17cmWingspan: 22.5-28cm
Weight: 18-34g
Classified in the UK as Amber under the Birds of Conservation Concern 5: the Red List for Birds (2021).
Habitats
About
Water pipits are scarce winter visitors, with just a few hundred individuals travelling to the UK each year. They like wetland habitats and are usually found foraging in flooded fields, or stalking around the muddy margins of freshwater marshes. They can turn up inland or at coastal sites, where they may sometimes also forage along the edges of brackish water, on saltmarshes or even amongst the strandline on beaches. They often return to the same sites each winter.In spring, water pipits return to their breeding grounds in the mountains of central and southern Europe. They nest on the ground in alpine meadows and can be found at altitudes of over 3,000 metres!
How to identify
Water pipits are small, streaky brown birds that are similar to the more common meadow and rock pipits. They are slightly larger than a meadow pipit, have a paler colouration and are much less streaky, though they can be more difficult to separate from rock pipits.Water pipits have a greyish-brown back and pale underparts (whiter than a rock pipit's), with the dark streaking mostly on the breast. They usually have a distinctively bold, pale stripe above the eye (called a supercilium), which stretches from the base of the beak towards the nape. However, this can be less obvious in some water pipits and some rock pipits may have an unusually strong supercilium. Water pipits usually have dark legs, but they can be paler in winter.
Before water pipits begin their migration back to their montane nesting grounds, they moult into their breeding plumage. In spring, they have a pale blue-grey head and a strong pink blush to their breast.