Grassveld Pipit

About the Grassveld Pipit

The African pipit (Anthus cinnamomeus) is a fairly small passerine bird belonging to the pipit genus Anthus in the family Motacillidae. It is also known as the grassveld pipit or grassland pipit. It was formerly lumped together with the Richard's, Australian, mountain and paddyfield pipits in a single species, Richard's pipit (Anthus novaeseelandiae), but is now often treated as a species in its own right.

It has some defining characteristics, such as light brown feathers on the head and back, dark brown feathers on the lower back and tail, and a white chest. Some 15 subspecies are recognized: A. (c.) camaroonensis Shelley, 1900 – highlands of western Cameroon

A. c. lynesi Bannerman & Bates, 1926 – southeastern Nigeria to southwestern Sudan A. c. stabilis Clancey, 1986 – locally in Sudan and South Sudan A. c. cinnamomeus Rüppell, 1840 – locally in Ethiopian highlands A. c. eximius Clancey, 1986 – southern Arabian peninsula

A. c. annae R.Meinertzhagen, 1921 – coastal Horn of Africa to coastal Tanzania A. c. itombwensis Prigogine, 1981 – eastern highlands of the DRC A. c. lacuum R.Meinertzhagen, 1920 – perimeter of Lake Victoria to central Tanzania

A. c. latistriatus... Wikipedia →