Meadow Pipit
Anthus pratensis
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
- FamilyMotacillidae (Wagtails and Pipits)
- GenusAnthus (Pipits)
- SpeciesAnthus pratensis (Meadow Pipit)
About the Meadow Pipit
The meadow pipit (Anthus pratensis) is a small passerine bird that breeds throughout much of the Palearctic, from south-eastern Greenland and Iceland east to just east of the Ural Mountains in Russia, and south to central France and Romania; an isolated population also occurs in the Caucasus Mountains. It is migratory over most of its range, wintering in southern Europe, North Africa, and south-western Asia, but is resident year-round in western Europe, although even here many birds move to the coast or lowlands in winter.
The meadow pipit was formally described by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Alauda pratensis. The type locality is Sweden. The meadow pipit is now the type species of the genus Anthus that was introduced in 1805 by German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein. The species is monotypic; no subspecies are recognised.
The generic name Anthus is the Latin name for a small grassland bird mentioned by Pliny the Elder, and the specific name pratensis means "of a meadow ", from pratum, "meadow". The name "pipit", first documented by Thomas Pennant in 1768, is onomatopoeic, from the... Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Vanoise National Park
Water Pipit
Anthus spinoletta
Tree Pipit
Anthus trivialis
White Wagtail
Motacilla alba
Grey Wagtail
Motacilla cinerea
Western Yellow Wagtail
Motacilla flava
Chaffinch
Fringilla coelebs
Black Redstart
Phoenicurus ochruros
Alpine Chough
Pyrrhocorax graculus
Eurasian Crag Martin
Ptyonoprogne rupestris
Carrion Crow
Corvus corone
Coal Tit
Periparus ater
Eurasian Blackbird
Turdus merula
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Meadow Pipit in Vanoise National Park?
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Meadow Pipit sighting in Vanoise National Park, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Meadow Pipit in Vanoise National Park?
October has the highest sighting rate for Meadow Pipit in Vanoise National Park in our monthly data.