Bird Guide

Australian Pipit vs Tawny Pipit

Australian Pipit (Anthus australis)

Australian Pipit

Anthus australis

It is a slender bird, 16 to 19 cm long, and weighs about 40 grams. The plumage is pale brown above with dark streaks. The underparts are pale with streaks on the breast. There is a pale stripe over the eye and dark malar and moustachial stripes. The long tail has white outer-feathers and is often wagged up and down. The legs are long and pinkish-brown while the bill is slender and brownish. It has a sparrow-like chirruping call and a drawn-out tswee call.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Patrick_K59 · CC BY 2.0
Tawny Pipit (Anthus campestris)

Tawny Pipit

Anthus campestris

Small23 gGrassland

This is a large pipit, 16 centimetres (6.3 in) long with wing-span 25–28 centimetres (9.8–11.0 in), but is an undistinguished looking species on the ground, mainly sandy brown above and pale below. It is very similar to Richard's pipit, but is slightly smaller, has shorter wings, tail and legs and a narrower dark bill. It is also less streaked. Its flight is strong and direct, and it gives a characteristic "schip" call, higher pitched than Richard's. Its song is a short repetition of a loud disyllabic chir-ree chir-ree.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Sonothèque ADVL · CC0
Photo: (c) Johannes S., some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Johannes S. · cc-by

Learn this pair in BeakBrain

Photo and call practice, free in any browser.

Play BeakBrain

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Australian Pipit and Tawny Pipit.