Long-billed Pipit

About the Long-billed Pipit

The long-billed pipit or brown rock pipit (Anthus similis) is a passerine bird which has a wide distribution. A number of subspecies have been created for the populations in Africa, through the Arabian Peninsula and South Asia. The systematics of this complex is yet to be clarified. Most birds are residents or short distance migrants.

This is a complex group with several similar looking birds with very disjunct distributions and the exact patterns of phylogeny are yet to be determined. Several subspecies that were formerly placed within this species have been raised to full species status.

The wood pipit (Anthus nyassae), an inhabitant of miombo woodland in south-central Africa, was formerly treated as a subspecies of this bird but is now usually regarded as a separate species. Some authorities also split Bannerman's pipit (Anthus (similis) bannermani), a bird of mountain grassland in West Africa. The Nicholson's pipit is a recently split non-migratory species from southern Africa.

The nominate race was described by Thomas C. Jerdon in 1840 from peninsular India. This form occurs along the Western Ghats and into the Nilgiris and Palni Hills. A darker race... Wikipedia →