Editing Water pipit (section)

==Taxonomy and systematics==

The family [[Motacillidae]] consists of the [[wagtail]]s, [[pipit]]s and [[longclaw]]s. The largest of the three groups is the pipits, [[genus]] ''Anthus'', which are typically brown-plumaged terrestrial [[insectivore]]s. Their similar appearances have led to [[Taxonomy (biology)|taxonomic]] problems; the water pipit and the [[buff-bellied pipit]] were both formerly considered [[subspecies]] of the [[European rock pipit]].<ref name="hbwfamily">{{cite web |last1=Tyler | first1=S | last2=Bonan | first2=A | editor1-last=del Hoyo |editor1-first=Josep |editor2-last=Elliott |editor2-first=Andrew |editor3-last=Sargatal |editor3-first=Jordi |editor4-last=Christie |editor4-first=David A |editor5-last=de Juana |editor5-first=Eduardo |year=2013 |title=Family Motacillidae: Pipits and Wagtails |work=Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive |url=http://www.hbw.com/family/pipits-and-wagtails-motacillidae |publisher=Lynx Edicions |location=Barcelona |access-date=29 September 2016 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Of these, the rock pipit is the more closely related to the water pipit, based on external and molecular characteristics.<ref name=id /><ref name="researchgate">{{cite journal |last=Voelker |first=Gary |year=1999 |title=Molecular evolutionary relationships in the Avian genus ''Anthus'' (Pipits: Motacillidae) |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=11 |issue=1 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/13207677 |pages=84–94 |doi=10.1006/mpev.1998.0555|pmid=10082613}}</ref> Other near relatives are the [[Meadow pipit|meadow]], [[Red-throated pipit|red-throated]] and [[rosy pipit]]s.<ref name="researchgate"/><ref name="hbw">{{cite web | last=Tyler | first=S | editor1-last=del Hoyo |editor1-first=Josep |editor2-last=Elliott |editor2-first=Andrew |editor3-last=Sargatal |editor3-first=Jordi |editor4-last=Christie |editor4-first=David A |editor5-last=de Juana |editor5-first=Eduardo |year=2013 |title=Water Pipit (''Anthus spinoletta'') |work=Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive |url=http://www.hbw.com/species/water-pipit-anthus-spinoletta |publisher=Lynx Edicions |location=Barcelona |access-date=25 November 2016 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The water pipit was first described by [[Carl Linnaeus]] in the tenth edition of his ''[[10th edition of Systema Naturae|Systema Naturae]]'' in 1758 as ''Alauda spinoletta'' (characterised as ''A. rectricibus fuscis : extimis duabus oblique dimidiato-albis'').<ref>{{cite book | last1=Linnaeus | first1=Carolus | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | language = la | title=Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata | volume=1 | publisher=Holmiae (Laurentii Salvii)| year=1758| page=166 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/10277#page/185/mode/1up }}</ref> The current genus ''Anthus'' was created for the pipits by German naturalist [[Johann Matthäus Bechstein]] in 1805.<ref name= bech>{{cite book | last1 = Bechstein | first1 = Johann Matthias | title = Gemeinutzige Naturgeschichte Deutschland nach allen drey Reichen | publisher =Bey Siegfried Lebrecht Crusius| year = 1805| location = Leipzig (Siegfried Lebrecht Crusius)|language=de| url= https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/97222#page/287/mode/1up | pages = 247|edition=2 |volume=1 }}</ref> ''Anthus'' is the [[Latin]] name for a small bird of grasslands, and the specific ''spinoletta'' is a local dialect word for a pipit from the [[Florence]] area of Italy.<ref name =job>{{cite book | last= Jobling | first= James A | year= 2010| title= The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url= https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling | publisher=Christopher Helm | location = London, United Kingdom | isbn = 978-1-4081-2501-4 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n49 49], 362}}</ref>
[[File:Anthus spinoletta Water Pipit.jpg|thumb|Wintering ''Anthus spinoletta blakistoni'' at [[Tal Chhapar Sanctuary]]]]

There are three recognised subspecies of the water pipit:
* ''Anthus spinoletta spinoletta'', (Linnaeus, 1758),{{efn|The parentheses show that the current genus name differs from that given originally}} the [[Subspecies#Nominotypical subspecies and subspecies autonyms|nominate subspecies]], breeds in the mountains of southern Europe from the [[Pyrenees]] eastwards to northwestern Turkey, and on [[Sardinia]] and [[Corsica]].<ref name="simms">{{cite book |last1=Simms |first1=Eric |title=British Larks, Pipits and Wagtails |publisher=Harper Collins |series=New Naturalist |year=1992 |location=London |pages=166–175 |isbn=978-0-00-219870-7}}</ref>
* ''Anthus spinoletta coutellii'', [[Jean Victoire Audouin|Audouin]], 1828,<!--By convention, this one doesn't have brackets, since it's the original name.--> breeds in the mountains of Turkey other than the northwest, the [[Caucasus]], northern Iran and Turkmenistan.<ref name="hbw" />
* ''Anthus spinoletta blakistoni, '' [[Robert Swinhoe|R. Swinhoe]], 1863,<!--By convention, this one doesn't have brackets, since it's the original name.--> breeds in mountains across Asia from southern Russia east to central China.<ref name="hbw" />

A possible fourth race from the northwestern Caucasus, ''Anthus spinoletta caucasicus'', cannot be reliably separated from ''A.s. coutellii''. The latter form is itself a potential new species, based on [[gene]]tic data, appearance and a characteristic [[flight call]].<ref name="hbw" />