Editing Paddyfield pipit (section)

==Behaviour and ecology==
A widespread species found in open habitats, especially short grassland and cultivation with open bare ground. It runs rapidly on the ground, and when flushed, does not fly far.{{cn|date=November 2020}}

The paddyfield pipit breeds throughout the year but mainly in the dry season. Birds may have two or more broods in a year. During the breeding season, it sings by repeating a note during its descent from a short fluttery flight, a few feet above the ground. It builds its nest on the ground under a slight prominence, a tuft of grass, or at the edge of a bush. The nests are woven out of grass and leaves and are normally [[cup nest|cup]] shaped. Exposed nests are sometimes domed or semi-domed, the long grass at the back and sides extending over the top. Nests are lined with finer grass or roots and sometimes with a little dry moss, bracken or other material at the base of the nest. The usual clutch is three or four eggs with greenish ground colour and numerous small brown specks at the larger end. When disturbed near the nest, the birds flutter nearby with weak ''tsip-tsip-tsip'' calls. Parent birds may also [[Distraction display|feign injury]] to distract predators.<ref name=hbk>{{cite book|author1=Ali, S  |author2=Ripley, S.D. |name-list-style=amp |year=1998|title=Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan|volume=9|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=255–260|edition=2nd}}</ref> Mites are known to cause scaly leg lesions.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Kasetsart Veterinarians |volume=17 |issue=2|year= 2007|title=Case Report: Cnemidocoptiasis (Scaly Leg) of Paddyfield Pipit Bird (Anthus rufulus) in Petchaburi Province of Thailand|author=Sangvaranond, A|author2=Sataporn Jittapalapong, Kaset Sutasha|author3=Wissanuwat Chimnoi1|name-list-style=amp|pages=91–96| url=http://kasetsartjournal.ku.ac.th/kuj_files/2009/A0903091444263437.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181009172529/http://kasetsartjournal.ku.ac.th/kuj_files/2009/A0903091444263437.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2018}}</ref> It feeds principally on small insects but consumes larger beetles, tiny snails, worms etc. while walking on the ground, and may pursue insects like mosquitoes or termites in the air.<ref name=fbi3/>

A species of ''[[Haemoproteus]]'', ''H. anthi'', has been described from this species.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Journal of Natural History|author1=Bennett, G. F. |author2=Peirce, M. A. |title=The haemoproteids of the Old World avian families Alaudidae (larks), Irenidae (leaf birds), and Motacillidae (wagtails and pipits)|year=1990|volume=24|issue=4|pages=939–947|doi=10.1080/00222939000770581}}</ref>