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American Pipit
Anthus rubescens
At-a-Glance
• Incubation: 13-15 days
• Clutch Size: 4-6 eggs
• Young Fledge: 13-15 days after hatching
• Typical Foods: insects and seeds |
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Description
The pipit is streaked brown with white outer tail feathers, long hindclaws, and a thin bill. The underparts are buffy with streaks and the legs are dark in color. When it walks, it bobs its tail almost constantly.
Habitat and Habits
Pipits can be seen on mudflats, barren agricutural fields, and grassy expanses, such as at airports. An interesting trait of pipits is that they walk rather than hop, as most songbirds do. Huge numbers pass overhead in migration, but one must be attuned to their calls to detect them. Pipits sound much like horned larks, but their calls are sharper and more incisive, and all on the same pitch - pip-it! pip-it!
Reproduction and Care of the Young
The pipit breeds in the Arctic tundra. Its nest is a cup of grass and twigs built on the ground in the shelter of a rock or tussock. |
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