Editing American pipit

{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Anthus rubescens -Harney County, Oregon, USA-8.jpg
| image_caption = Nominate subspecies in Oregon, USA [[File:Anthus rubescens - Buff-bellied Pipit - XC111042.ogg|thumb|center|American pipit recorded in [[Minnesota]]]]
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |author-link=BirdLife International |year= 2019 |title= ''Anthus rubescens'' |amends= 2018 |page= e.T22718575A155437845 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22718575A155437845.en |access-date=11 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Anthus
| species = rubescens
| authority = ([[Marmaduke Tunstall|Tunstall]], 1771)
| synonyms =
''Anthus pensilvanicus''
| range_map = Anthus rubescens map.svg
| range_map_caption = American pipit (left)
{{leftlegend|#FF8026|Breeding|outline=gray}}
{{leftlegend|#FFDE54|Migration|outline=gray}}
{{leftlegend|#5F8ED4|Wintering|outline=gray}}
}}

The '''American pipit''' ('''''Anthus rubescens'''''), formerly known as the '''buff-bellied pipit''', is a small [[songbird]] native to [[North America]]. It was first described by [[Marmaduke Tunstall]] in his 1771 ''Ornithologia Britannica''.<ref name=Tunstall/> It was formerly classified as a form of the [[water pipit]]. The former subspecies, [[Siberian pipit]], is now considered a distinct species.

==Description==
Like most other [[pipit]]s, the American pipit is an undistinguished-looking [[species]] which usually can be seen to run around on the ground. It has lightly streaked grey-brown upperparts and is diffusely streaked below on the buff breast and flanks. The belly is whitish, the bill and legs are dark. The related [[Siberian pipit]] is darker above and has bolder black streaking on its whiter underparts; its legs have a reddish hue.<ref name=Alstrom/><ref name=Svensson/> The call is a squeaky ''sip''.<ref name=Svensson/>

'''Measurements''':<ref>{{Cite web|title=BTO BirdFacts {{!}} Buff-bellied Pipit|url=https://app.bto.org/birdfacts/results/bob10144.htm|access-date=2020-09-29|website=app.bto.org|language=en}}</ref>

* '''Length''': 16&nbsp;cm 
* '''Weight''': 22 g 
* '''Wingspan''': 24&nbsp;cm

==Taxonomy==
The scientific name is from [[Latin]]. ''Anthus'' is the name for a small bird of grasslands, and the specific ''rubescens'' means "reddish", from
''ruber'',  "ruddy".<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], 339 }}</ref>

Three subspecies are currently recognized:
* ''A. r. rubescens'' - <small>(Tunstall, 1771)</small>, '''{{vanchor|American pipit}}''' – breeds in northern Canada east to Greenland and northeast United States, wintering in Central America
*''A. r. pacificus -'' <small>(Todd, 1935)</small> Breeds in Pacific Cordillera from Alaska to Oregon, wintering in western Mexico. Birds breeding in south Alaska have sometimes been recognized as a distinct subspecies ''A. r. geophilus.'' <ref>{{Cite web|last=Lee|first=Cin-Ty|title=Siberian (A. r. japonicus) versus American Pipits (A. r. rubescens, pacificus, alticola) in basic plumage|url=https://www.surfbirds.com/ID%20Articles/Pipits1.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-10-25|website=www.surfbirds.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030128015047/http://www.surfbirds.com:80/ID%20Articles/Pipits1.html |archive-date=2003-01-28 }}</ref>
*''A. r. alticola -'' <small>(Todd, 1935)</small> Breeds in the [[Rocky Mountains]] from southern British Columbia to California, wintering in Mexico

This species is closely related to [[European rock pipit]] (''A. petrosus'') and [[water pipit]] (''A. spinoletta''), all three forms having previously been considered conspecific. They can be differentiated by their vocalizations and some visual cues, but rock and American pipit are not found [[sympatric]]ally except as vagrant individuals.<ref name=Alstrom/><ref name=Nazarenko/><ref name=Leonovich/>


==Behavior==
All [[subspecies]] of the American pipit are [[bird migration|migratory]]. The American pipit winters on the [[Pacific]] coast of North America, and on the [[Atlantic (ocean)|Atlantic]] coast from the southern North America to [[Central America]].<ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021" /> At least regarding the American pipit, its wintering range seems to have expanded northwards in the 20th century and the birds seem to spend less time in winter quarters: in northern [[Ohio]], for example, the species was recorded as "not common" during migration in May and September/October in the 1900s (decade), but today it is considered a "widespread migrant" in that region, found between March and May and from late September to November, with many birds actually wintering this far north. The American pipit is a rare vagrant to [[Western Europe|Western]].<ref name=Svensson/><ref name=Henninger/><ref name=Bangs/><ref name=OOS/>

Like its relatives, this species is [[insectivorous]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=American Pipit |url=https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/american-pipit |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=Audubon |language=en}}</ref> The breeding habitat of American pipit is [[tundra]], but outside the breeding season it is found in open lightly vegetated areas, similar to those favoured by the [[water pipit]] (''A. spinoletta'').<ref name=Svensson/>

==Reproduction: from pairing to fledging==
[[File:Anthus rubescens MWNH 1588.JPG|thumb|Egg, Collection [[Museum Wiesbaden]]]]
The first thing American pipits do when they arrive on the breeding site, during snowmelt, is pairing. Indeed, males will start to fight one on one to win over the female and pair with it during the entire breeding season. They also fight for the snow-free sites that would be better for nesting. The moment is also very important because the melting snow implies an increase in arthropods abundance, which constitute the main food source for these birds. After the fight and the pairing, nesting is the next step. Nests are most often found on the ground in dry or [[wet meadow]]s, always with a helpful protection, but they are never placed in shrubs or trees.<ref name="Norment, C.J 2004"/><ref name="Pickwell, G 1947"/> The composition of the ideal nest depends on whatever is around the nesting area, but it is usually made of sedge, remains or new fine grass, and sometimes some horse hairs.<ref name="Pickwell, G 1947"/> The final issue buff-bellied pipits have to deal with is nest success. The nest is indeed the target for numerous predators such as ants or hawks. If this step is successful, an egg can be produced.<ref name="Pickwell, G 1947"/> The female will not lay an egg if the conditions, such as temperature and nesting site, are not optimal. If the first attempt fails, her time to lay an egg is reduced. In general, American pipits continuously lay eggs over a period of 4 to 5 days after snow-melt (in April–May) until mid-July. After this period, the male testes decrease in size and the female refuses any copulation.<ref name="Hendricks, P 2003"/> The [[avian clutch size|clutch size]] is usually 5 eggs but it can vary according to snowfalls, the parents' reproductive ability and predation.<ref name="Norment, C.J 2004"/> Eggs are incubated for 13–14 days.<ref name="Hendricks, P 2003"/><ref name="bna.birds.cornell.edu"/> During this time, the female does not leave the nest, but is still very reactive to any movement around her. She communicates by singing to the male that brings her food and defends their territory. Four or five days after hatching, the young is skinny, blue-gray in color, and only has its secondary feathers. For a week, the female will brood the clutch, but both parents will feed them. After these 7 days, the birds are ready for fledging but they will still be fed by their parents for 14 days after their departure. Finally, immature birds will form little flocks with other immature birds and wander off.<ref name="Pickwell, G 1947"/><ref name="bna.birds.cornell.edu"/>

==Status==
It is a widespread and common species and not considered threatened by the [[IUCN]].<ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021" />

==References==
{{Reflist|35em|refs=
<ref name= Alstrom >{{cite journal|author1=Alström, Per  |author2=Mild, Krister  |name-list-style=amp|year=1996|title= The identification of Rock, Water and Buff-bellied Pipits|journal=[[Alula (journal)|Alula]]|volume=2|issue=4|pages= 161–175}}</ref>

<ref name=Bangs>{{cite journal|author=Bangs, Outram|year=1932|title= Birds of western China obtained by the Kelley-Roosevelts expedition|journal=[[Fieldiana Zoology|Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Zool. Ser.]]|series=Publication |volume=18|issue=11|pages= [https://archive.org/details/birdsofwesternch1811bang/page/343 343]–379|url=https://archive.org/details/birdsofwesternch1811bang|doi=10.5962/bhl.title.3192|doi-access=free}}</ref>

<ref name="bna.birds.cornell.edu">Verbeek, N. A. and P. Hendricks. (1994). [http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/095 American Pipit (''Anthus rubescens'')], The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology.</ref>

<ref name= Henninger >{{cite journal|author= Henninger, W.F. |year=1906|title= A preliminary list of the birds of Seneca County, Ohio|journal=[[Wilson Bulletin|Wilson Bull.]]|volume=18|issue=2|pages= 47–60|url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/wilson/v018n02/p0047-p0060.pdf}}</ref>
<ref name="Hendricks, P 2003">{{cite journal|author=Hendricks, P. |year=2003|title= Spring snow conditions, laying date, and clutch size in an alpine population of American pipits|journal= J. Field Ornithol. |volume=74|issue=4|pages= 423–429|doi=10.1648/0273-8570-74.4.423|s2cid=86922377}}</ref>
<ref name= Leonovich >{{cite journal|author1=Leonovich, V.V. |author2=Deminia, G.V. |author3=Veprintseva, O.D.  |name-list-style=amp|year=1997|title= On the taxonomy and phylogeny of pipits (Genus ''Anthus'', Motacillidae, Aves) in Eurasia|journal=Biulleten Moskovskogo Obshchestva Ispytatelei Prirody. Otdel Biologicheskii|volume=102|issue=2|pages= 14–22}}</ref>
<ref name= Nazarenko >{{cite journal|author=Nazarenko, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich |year=1978|title= О видовой самостоятельности голоценового конька – ''Anthus rubescens'' (Tunstall) Aves, Motacillidae |trans-title=On species validity of ''Anthus rubescens'' (Tunstall) Aves: Motacillidae|journal=Biulleten Moskovskogo Obshchestva Ispytatelei Prirody. Otdel Biologicheskii|volume=57|issue=11|pages= 1743–1744|lang=ru}}</ref>
<ref name="Norment, C.J 2004">{{cite journal|author1=Norment, C.J.  |author2=Green, K.  |name-list-style=amp|year=2004|title= Breeding ecology of Richard's pipit (''Anthus novaeseelandiae'') in the snowy mountains|journal=Emu|volume= 104|doi= 10.1071/MU04006 |pages= 327–336|issue=4|bibcode=2004EmuAO.104..327N |s2cid=82117791 }}</ref>

<ref name=OOS>Ohio Ornithological Society (2004): [http://www.ohiobirds.org/publications/OBRClist.pdf Annotated Ohio state checklist] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040718101517/http://www.ohiobirds.org/publications/OBRClist.pdf |date=2004-07-18 }}.</ref>

<ref name="Pickwell, G 1947">{{cite journal|author=Pickwell, G. |year=1947|title= The American Pipit in Its Arctic-Alpine Home|journal= The Auk|volume= 64|issue=1|pages=1–14|url=http://sora.unm.edu/node/19202|doi=10.2307/4080059|jstor=4080059|doi-access=free}}</ref>

<ref name=Svensson>Svensson, Lars; Zetterström, Dan; Mullarney, Killian & Grant, Peter J. (1999): ''Collins Bird Guide''. Harper & Collins, London. {{ISBN|0-00-219728-6}}</ref>
<ref name=Tunstall>[[Marmaduke Tunstall|Tunstall, Marmaduke]] (1771): ''Ornithologia Britannica: seu Avium omnium Britannicarum tam terrestrium, quam aquaticarum catalogus, sermone Latino, Anglico et Gallico redditus''. J. Dixwell. London. [in Latin]</ref>
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==External links==
{{Commons category|Anthus rubescens}}
{{Wikispecies|Anthus rubescens}}
* [http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i6970id.html American pipit – ''Anthus rubescens''] – USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
* [http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/American_Pipit.html American pipit Species Account] – Cornell Lab of Ornithology
* {{InternetBirdCollection|buff-bellied-pipit-anthus-rubescens|Buff-bellied pipit videos}}
* {{VIREO|american+pipit|American pipit}}
* {{IUCN_Map|22718575/155437845|Anthus rubescens}}

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==Further reading==
===Book===

* Verbeek, N. A. M. and P. Hendricks. 1994. ''American Pipit (Anthus rubescens)''. In ''The Birds of North America'', No. 95 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, D.C.: The American Ornithologists’ Union.

===Thesis===

* Hendricks DP. Ph.D. (1993). ''Clutch- and egg-size variation of American pipits in alpine environments''. Washington State University, United States – Washington.

===Articles===

* Bennike O. (1990). ''Observations of Geese and Other Birds in West Greenland Arctic Ocean 1989 and 1990''. Dansk Ornitologisk Forenings Tidsskrift. vol '''84''', no 3-4. pp.&nbsp;145–150.
* Best JR & Higgs WJ. (1990). ''Bird Population Status Changes in Thule District North Greenland Arctic Ocean''. Dansk Ornitologisk Forenings Tidsskrift. vol '''84''', no 3-4. pp.&nbsp;159–160.
* Brichetti P & Massa B. (1987). ''Addenda and Corrigenda to the Check-List of Italian Birds''. Rivista Italiana di Ornitologia. vol '''57''', no 3-4. pp.&nbsp;157–160.
* Duckworth JW. (2006). ''Records of some bird species hitherto rarely found in DPR Korea''. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. vol '''126''', no 4. pp.&nbsp;252–290.
* Forrester RW. (1996). ''Amendments to the Scottish list''. Scottish Birds. vol '''18''', no 3. pp.&nbsp;129–131.
* Hendricks P. (1991). ''Repeatability of Size and Shape of American Pipit Eggs''. Canadian Journal of Zoology. vol '''69''', no 10. pp.&nbsp;2624–2628.
* Hendricks P. (1991). ''Site Fidelity and Renesting of Female American Pipits''. Journal of Field Ornithology. vol '''62''', no 3. pp.&nbsp;338–342.
* Hendricks P. (1997). ''Geographical trends in clutch size: A range-wide relationship with laying date in American pipits''. Auk. vol '''114''', no 4. pp.&nbsp;773–778.
* Hendricks P. (2003). ''Spring snow conditions, laying date, and clutch size in an alpine population of American Pipits''. Journal of Field Ornithology. vol '''74''', no 4. pp.&nbsp;423–429.
* Hendricks P & Norment CJ. (1992). ''Effects of Severe Snowstorm on Subalpine and Alpine Populations of Nesting American Pipits''. Journal of Field Ornithology. vol '''63''', no 3. pp.&nbsp;331–338.
* Hendricks P & Norment CJ. (1994). ''Hatchability of American pipit eggs in the Beartooth Mountains, Wyoming''. Wilson Bulletin. vol '''106''', no 2. pp.&nbsp;392–399.
* Kennedy PL, Stahlecker DW & Fair JM. (1995). ''Organochlorine concentrations in potential avian prey of breeding peregrine falcons in North-Central New Mexico''. Southwestern Naturalist. vol '''40''', no 1. pp.&nbsp;94–100.
* Knox A. (1988). ''TAXONOMY OF THE ROCK WATER PIPIT SUPERSPECIES ANTHUS-PETROSUS, ANTHUS-SPINOLETTA AND ANTHUS-RUBESCENS''. British Birds. vol '''81''', no 5. pp.&nbsp;206–211.
* Koblik EA & Mikhailov KE. (1994). ''On birds of upper belts of the mountains of Khorsko-Bikinsky watershed (middle Sikhote-Alin)''. Byulleten' Moskovskogo Obshchestva Ispytatelei Prirody Otdel Biologicheskii. vol '''99''', no 6. pp.&nbsp;47–54.
* Mikhailov KE. (1997). ''The regularities of the distribution of birds along vertical and habitual scale in the alpine-subalpine zone of the central Sikhote-Alin Range''. Byulleten' Moskovskogo Obshchestva Ispytatelei Prirody Otdel Biologicheskii. vol '''102''', no 6. pp.&nbsp;20–27.
* Norment CJ & Green K. (2004). ''Breeding ecology of Richard's Pipit (Anthus novaeseelandiae) in the Snowy Mountains''. Emu. vol '''104''', no 4. pp.&nbsp;327–336.
* Richardson TW, Pyle P, Burnett R & Capitolo P. (2003). ''The occurrence and seasonal distribution of migratory birds on Southeast Farallon Island, 1968–1999''. Western Birds. vol '''34''', no 2. pp.&nbsp;58–96.
* Taylor DM. (1994). ''Seasonal status of the American pipit in Idaho''. Western Birds. vol '''25''', no 1. pp.&nbsp;43–49.
* Verbeek NAM. (1995). ''The use of grit in pipits, especially the American Pipit''. Journal of Field Ornithology. vol '''65''', no 4. pp.&nbsp;498–503.
* Wilson S & Martin K. (2005). ''Songbird use of high-elevation habitat during the fall post-breeding and migratory periods''. Ecoscience. vol '''12''', no 4. pp.&nbsp;561–568.
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{{Taxonbar|from=Q871527}}

[[Category:Anthus|American pipit]]
[[Category:Birds of North America]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1771|American pipit]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Marmaduke Tunstall|American pipit]]