Editing European rock pipit

{{Short description|Small passerine bird that breeds in western Europe }}
{{Featured article}}
{{Pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{speciesbox
| image             = 2015-04-22 Anthus petrosus, Portsoy.jpg
| image_caption     = Nominate ''A. p. petrosus'' at [[Portsoy]] in [[Aberdeenshire]], [[Scotland]]
| image2            = Rock Pipit (Anthus petrosus) (W1CDR0001427 BD6).ogg
| image2_caption    = Bird recorded in [[Pembrokeshire]], Wales
| status            = LC
| status_system     = IUCN3.1
| status_ref        = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2018 |title=''Anthus petrosus'' |volume=2018 |page=e.T22718567A131987689 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22718567A131987689.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus             = Anthus
| species           = petrosus
| authority         = ([[George Montagu (naturalist)|Montagu]], 1798)
| synonyms          = ''Anthus spinoletta petrosus'' (Montagu, 1798)
| range_map         = Anthus petrosus map.png
| range_map_caption = {{ubl|{{Legend2|#FFFF00| Breeding summer visitor|border=1px solid #aaa}}|{{Legend2|#00FF00| Resident year-round|border=1px solid #aaa}}|{{Legend2|#0080FF| Winter visitor|border=1px solid #aaa}}<br />(ranges are approximate)}}
}}

The '''European rock pipit''' ('''''Anthus petrosus'''''), or simply '''rock pipit''', is a species of small [[passerine]] bird that breeds in western Europe on rocky coasts. It has streaked greyish-brown upperparts and buff underparts, and is similar in appearance to other European [[pipit]]s. There are two subspecies, of which the nominate is [[bird migration|non-migratory]], and the [[Fennoscandia]]n one is migratory, wintering in shoreline habitats further west and south in Europe. The European rock pipit is [[territory (animal)|territorial]] at least in the breeding season, and year-round where it is resident. Males will sometimes enter an adjacent territory to assist the resident in repelling an intruder, behaviour only otherwise known from the [[Uca annulipes|African fiddler crab]].

European rock pipits construct a cup nest under coastal vegetation or in cliff crevices and lay four to six speckled pale grey eggs which hatch in about two weeks with a further 16 days to [[fledge|fledging]]. Although insects are occasionally caught in flight, the pipits feed mainly on small [[invertebrate]]s picked off the rocks or from shallow water.

The European rock pipit may be hunted by [[bird of prey|birds of prey]], infested by parasites such as [[flea]]s, or act as an [[brood parasite|involuntary host]] to the [[common cuckoo]], but overall its population is large and stable, and it is therefore evaluated as a [[species of least concern]] by the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] (IUCN).

==Taxonomy and systematics==
The family [[Motacillidae]] consists of the [[wagtail]]s, [[pipit]]s and [[longclaw]]s. The largest of these groups is the pipits in the [[genus]] ''Anthus'', which are typically brown-plumaged terrestrial [[insectivore]]s. Their similar appearances have led to [[Taxonomy (biology)|taxonomic]] problems; the European rock pipit and the [[buff-bellied pipit]] were considered [[subspecies]] of the [[water pipit]] until they were separated by the [[British Ornithologists' Union]] in 1998.<ref name="hbwfamily">{{ cite book |last=Tyler |first=Stephanie |year=2004 |chapter=Family Motacillidae (Pipits and Wagtails) |editor1-last=del Hoyo |editor1-first=J. |editor2-last=Elliott |editor2-first=A. |editor3-last=Christie |editor3-first=D.A. |title=Handbook of the Birds of the World |volume=9: Cotingas to Pipits and Wagtails |place=Barcelona, Spain |publisher=Lynx Edicions |isbn=978-84-87334-69-6 |pages=686–743}}</ref> The European rock pipit is closely related to the [[Meadow pipit|meadow]], [[Red-throated pipit|red-throated]] and [[rosy pipit]]s as well as its former subspecies.<ref name="hbw">{{cite journal |last=Tyler |first=Stephanie |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=2020 |title=Rock Pipit (''Anthus petrosus'') |journal=Birds of the World |publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology |location=Ithaca, NY, US |doi=10.2173/bow.rocpip1.01 |s2cid=216195668}}</ref><ref>{{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 |pages=84–94 |doi=10.1006/mpev.1998.0555 |pmid=10082613|bibcode=1999MolPE..11...84V }}</ref>

The first formal description naming this species was by English [[Natural history|naturalist]] [[George Montagu (naturalist)|George Montagu]] in 1798.<ref name="montagu">{{cite journal |last=Montagu |first=George |title=Alauda Petrosa.—Rock Lark. |journal=Transactions of the Linnean Society of London |volume=4 |page=41 |year=1798 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/13714#page/50/mode/1up}}</ref> It had previously been described in 1766 by [[Thomas Pennant]], in the first edition of ''British Zoology'', although he did not distinguish it from the common titlark (meadow pipit). It was first shown to be different from that species by John Walcott in the 1789 edition of his ''Synopsis of British Birds'', in which he called it the sea lark. [[John Latham (ornithologist)|John Latham]] was the first to give the European rock pipit a scientific name, ''Alauda obscura'' in 1790,<ref name="Latham">{{cite journal |last1=Latham |first1=John |title=Index ornithologicus, sive, Systema ornithologiae : Complectens avium divisionem in classes, ordines, genera, species, ipsarumque varietates : Adjectis synonymis, locis, descriptionibus, &c |journal=Index Ornithologicus |date=1790 |volume=2 |page=494 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/53509921 |access-date=2024-08-15}}</ref> but his name was an invalid [[homonym (biology)|homonym]], the same name being used a year earlier by [[Johann Friedrich Gmelin|Gmelin]] for a different bird from Sardinia.<ref name="Gmelin">{{cite journal |last1=Gmelin |first1=Johann Friedrich |title=Caroli a Linné. Systema naturae per regna tria naturae : Secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis |journal=Systema Naturae |date=1789 |volume=1 |issue=2 |page=801 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/25750179 |access-date=2024-08-15}}</ref> In the same year, Montagu, whom Latham had consulted about the bird, found European rock pipits on the coast of [[Wales|South Wales]], where it was known to some fishermen in the region as the "rock lark". He adopted that name for the species and gave it the scientific name ''Alauda petrosa''.<ref name="montagu" /><ref name="Yarrell 1874">{{cite book |last1=Yarrell |first1=William |author1-link=William Yarrell |last2=Newton |first2=Alfred |author2-link=Alfred Newton |year=1871–1874 |title=A History of British Birds |volume=1 |edition=4th |pages=586–591 |place=London |publisher=John Van Vorst |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8451084}}</ref>

The scientific name of the European rock pipit is from [[Latin]]. ''Anthus'' is the name given by [[Pliny the Elder]] to a small bird of grasslands, and the specific ''petrosus'' means "rocky", from ''petrus'', "rock".<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 |isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n49 49], 300}}</ref>

There are two recognised subspecies of the European rock pipit:<ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | year=2024 | title=Waxbills, parrotfinches, munias, whydahs, Olive Warbler, accentors, pipits | work=IOC World Bird List Version 14.1 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/waxbills/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=15 August 2024 }}</ref><ref name=Svensson>Svensson, L. (1992). ''Identification Guide to European Passerines''. British Trust for Ornithology, Thetford. {{ISBN|91-630-1118-2}}.</ref><ref name=Shirihai>{{Cite book|title=Handbook of Western Palearctic Birds, Volume 1: Passerines: Larks to Warblers|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|date=2018-08-27|isbn=978-1-4729-3758-2|language=en|first1=Hadoram|last1=Shirihai|first2=Lars|last2=Svensson}}</ref><ref name="migatlas">{{Cite book  | editor-last = Wernham  | editor-first = C. V. | editor2-last = Toms | editor2-first = M. P. | editor3-last = Marchant | editor3-first = J. H. | editor4-last = Clark | editor4-first = J. A. | editor5-last = Siriwardena | editor5-first = G. M. | editor6-last = Baillie | editor6-first = S. R. | title = The Migration Atlas: movements of the birds of Britain and Ireland | publisher = T. & A. D. Poyser | location = London, UK | year = 2002  | pages = 474–476 | isbn = 978-0-7136-6514-7}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable "
|-
! Image !! Subspecies !!  Distribution
|-
|[[File:Rock Pipit, Newquay, Cornwall (7503360536).jpg|120px]]||''Anthus petrosus petrosus'' (Montagu, 1798) – the [[Subspecies#Nominotypical subspecies and subspecies autonyms|nominate subspecies]] || breeds in the [[Faroe Islands]], [[Ireland]], [[Great Britain]], northwest [[France]] and the [[Channel Islands]]; non-migratory
|-
|[[File:Eurasian Rock Pipit, Helgoland 1.jpg|120px]] || ''Anthus petrosus littoralis'' [[Christian Ludwig Brehm|Brehm]], 1823 || breeds in [[Norway]], [[Denmark]], the [[Baltic Sea]] coasts, and far northwestern [[Russia]]; migratory, wintering on the coasts of western Europe from Scotland south to northwest Africa.
|-
|}

The suggested subspecies ''A. p. kleinschmidti'' on the Faroe Islands, Shetland, and Orkney, ''A. p. meinertzhageni'' on [[South Uist]], ''A. p. hesperianus'' on the [[Isle of Arran]], and ''A. p. ponens'' in northwestern France cannot be reliably separated from the nominate subspecies and are now included in it.<ref name=ioc/><ref name=Svensson/><ref name=Shirihai/> There is a geographical cline in appearance, with longer-billed, darker birds at the western end of the range, and shorter-billed, paler individuals in the east.<ref name="hbw" />

==Description==
[[File:Rock Pipit Grönvold.jpg|thumb|1907 illustration by [[Henrik Grønvold]]]]

The European rock pipit is {{convert|16.5|–|17|cm|in}} long and weighs {{convert|18|–|32.5|g|oz}}. The nominate race has smoky-olive upperparts, weakly streaked with darker brown, and buff underparts, heavily marked with poorly defined brown streaks. The legs, bill and [[Iris (anatomy)|iris]] are dark brown or blackish, and there is a pale eye-ring. The sexes are alike; although males average slightly brighter than females, the overlap is complete and birds cannot be sexed on appearance or measurements.<ref name="alstrom">{{cite book |last1=Alström |first1=Per |last2=Mild |first2=Krister |title=Pipits and Wagtails of Europe, Asia and North America |publisher=Christopher Helm |series=Identification and Systematics (Helm Identification Guides) |year=2003 |location=London |pages=164–169 |isbn=978-0-7136-5834-7}}</ref> Immature birds resemble the adult, although they may sometimes be browner and more streaked above,<ref name="hbw" /> looking superficially similar to meadow pipits.<ref name="alstrom" />

The eastern subspecies ''A. p. littoralis'' can only be reliably distinguished from the nominate subspecies in summer plumage, when it may show pinkish underparts and a pale [[supercilium]] (eyebrow), thereby resembling the water pipit. European rock pipits in winter are readily distinguishable from water pipits, but very difficult to assign to subspecies by appearance or measurements. The western populations are known to be nearly sedentary, so east of the [[Elbe]] [[Drainage basin|basin]] vagrant Eurasian rock pipits are presumably mostly ''littoralis''.<ref name="Töpfer 2008" /><ref name="Bijlsma 1977">{{cite journal |last=Bijlsma |first=R J |title=Voorkomen en oecologie van ''Anthus spinoletta spinoletta'' en ''A. s. littoralis'' in de uiterwaarden van de Rijn bij Wageningen |journal=Limosa |year=1977 |volume=50 |issue=3–4 |pages=127–136 |trans-title=Distribution and ecology of ''A. spinoletta'' and ''A. s. littoralis'' in the Rhine floodplain at Wageningen |language=nl |issn=0024-3620}}</ref> [[Bird ringing|Ringing]] results show that ''A. p. littoralis'' birds from Scandinavia winter widely within the breeding range of ''A. p. petrosus'' in Britain as well as further south in western Europe; they are sometimes, but not always, separated ecologically, tending to use more sheltered and muddier, less stony, coasts.<ref name="migatlas"/> Virtually all rock pipits in southeastern England (where ''A. p. petrosus'' does not breed) are ''A. p. littoralis''.<ref name="migatlas"/>

Adult European rock pipits have a complete [[moulting|moult]] in August–September, at which time juveniles replace their body and some wing [[covert feather]]s, giving them an appearance very like the adults. From late January to early March there is a partial moult and individually variable moult of some body and wing covert feathers, and sometimes the central tail feathers.<ref name="BBWill">{{cite journal |last1=Williamson |first1=Kenneth |year=1965 |title=Moult and its relation to taxonomy in Rock and Water Pipits |journal=British Birds |volume=58 |issue=12 |pages=493–504 |url=https://britishbirds.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/article_files/V58/V58_N12/V58_N12_P493_504_A095.pdf |access-date=17 October 2016 |archive-date=23 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170123035549/https://britishbirds.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/article_files/V58/V58_N12/V58_N12_P493_504_A095.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The European rock pipit is closely related to the water pipit and the meadow pipit,<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|bibcode=1999MolPE..11...84V }}</ref> and is rather similar in appearance. Compared to the meadow pipit, the European rock pipit is darker, larger and longer-winged than its relative, and has dark, rather than pinkish-red, legs. The water pipit in winter plumage is also confusable with the  European rock pipit, but has a strong supercilium and greyer upperparts; it is also typically much warier. The European rock pipit's dusky, rather than white, outer tail feathers are also a distinction from all its relatives.<ref name="macmillan">{{cite book |last1=Harris |first1=Alan |last2=Vinicombe |first2=Keith |last3=Tucker |first3=Laurel |title=The Macmillan Field Guide to Bird Identification |publisher=Macmillan |series=Macmillan field guides |year=1989 |location=London |pages=159–161 |isbn=978-0-333-42773-6}}</ref> The habitats used by European rock and water pipits are completely separate in the breeding season, and there is little overlap even when birds are not nesting.<ref name="alstrom" />

The European rock pipit's song is a sequence of about twenty tinkling ''cheepa'' notes followed by a rising series of thin ''gee'' calls, and finishing with a short [[trill (music)|trill]].<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=153–165 |isbn=978-0-00-219870-7}}</ref> The shrill ''pseep'' flight call is intermediate between the soft ''sip sip sip'' of the meadow pipit and the water pipit's short, thin ''fist''.<ref name="macmillan" />

==Distribution and habitat==
[[File:Rock Pipit (Anthus petrosus), Norwick - geograph.org.uk - 553790.jpg|thumb|On the rocky beaches of [[Shetland|Norwick, Shetland]]]]

The European rock pipit is almost entirely coastal, frequenting rocky areas typically below {{convert|100|m|ft}}, although on St Kilda it breeds at up to {{convert|400|m|ft}}.<ref name="BWP">{{cite book |editor1-last=Snow |editor1-first=David |editor2-last=Perrins |editor2-first=Christopher M |title=The Birds of the Western Palearctic concise edition (2 volumes) |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1998 |location=Oxford |pages=1088–1092 |isbn=978-0-19-854099-1}}</ref> The European rock pipit is not troubled by wind or rain, although it avoids very exposed situations. It may occur further inland in winter or on migration.<ref name="hbw" />

The breeding range is [[Temperate climate|temperate]] and [[Arctic]] Europe on western and [[Baltic Sea]] coasts,<ref name="simms" /> with a very small number sometimes nesting in Iceland.<ref name="BWP" /> The nominate race is largely resident, with only limited movement. ''A. p. littoralis'' is largely [[bird migration|migratory]], wintering on coasts from southern Scandinavia to southwest Europe, with a few reaching Morocco. Wanderers have reached [[Spitsbergen]] and the [[Canary Islands]], but records in Europe away from the coast are rare.<ref name="hbw" /> For example, a male shot at [[Dresden]] in 1894, now in the collection of the local [[State Museum of Zoology, Dresden|State Museum of Zoology]], is the sole specimen for [[Saxony]].<ref name="Töpfer 2008">{{cite journal |last=Töpfer |first=Till |title=Nachweise seltener Vogeltaxa (''Aves'') in Sachsen aus der ornithologischen Sammlung des Museums für Tierkunde Dresden |trans-title=Records of rare bird taxa (''Aves'') in Saxony from the ornithological collection of the Zoological Museum Dresden |journal=Faunistische Abhandlungen |year=2008 |volume=26 |pages=63–101 |issn=0375-2135 |issue=3 |language=de}}</ref>

Migratory populations leave their breeding grounds in September and October, returning from March onwards, although in the far north they may not arrive before May.<ref name="BWP" />

==Behaviour==
The European rock pipit is a much more approachable bird than the water pipit. If startled, it flies a fairly short distance, close to the ground, before it alights, whereas its relative is warier and flies some distance before landing again.<ref name="Bijlsma 1977" /> Eurasian rock pipits are usually solitary, only occasionally forming small flocks.<ref name="macmillan" />

<gallery widths="200px" heights="140px">
File:Faroe Island.1.bird.jpg|''A. p. petrosus'' on [[Suðuroy]], [[Faroe Islands]]
File:Anthus_petrosus.jpg|''Anthus petrosus'' at [[Ringstead Bay]], [[Dorset]]
File:Anthus_petrosus02.jpg|''Anthus petrosus'' at [[Swanage]], Wales
</gallery>

===Breeding===
[[File:Anthus petrosus MWNH 1589cropped.jpg|thumb|The bird lays four to six speckled pale grey eggs which hatch in about two weeks.]]

The European rock pipit is highly territorial in the breeding season, and throughout the year where it is resident. Breeding males have a song display in which they fly to {{convert|15|–|30|m|ft}} above the ground, then circle or descend to the ground with a fluttering "parachute" flight.<ref name="hbw" /> Territorial males will sometimes enter the territory of an adjacent male to cooperate in evicting an intruder<!--presumably, an intruder from farther away, as the cooperating male is also an intruder in the neighbor's territory; should this be noted?-->. This behaviour, which requires the ability to distinguish the resident from the intruder, is only otherwise known from the [[Austruca annulipes|African fiddler crab]].<ref name="detto">{{cite journal |last1=Detto |first1=Tanya |last2=Jennions |first2=Michael D |last3=Backwell |first3=Patricia R Y |title=When and Why Do Territorial Coalitions Occur? Experimental Evidence from a Fiddler Crab |journal=The American Naturalist |volume=175 |issue=5 |pages=E119–E125 |year=2010 |jstor=651588 |doi=10.1086/651588 |pmid=20302425 |s2cid=44135001}}</ref><ref name="elf">{{cite journal |last=Elfström |first=S T |title=Fighting behavior and strategy of rock pipit, ''Anthus petrosus'', neighbors: cooperative defense |journal=Animal Behaviour |volume=54 |issue=3 |pages=535–542 |year=1997 |doi=10.1006/anbe.1996.0492 |pmid=9299039 |s2cid=53152258}}</ref>

Eggs are laid from early to mid-April in Britain and Ireland, from mid-May in southern Scandinavia, and from June in the north. The nest is always close to the shore, in a cliff crevice or hole, or under the cover of vegetation.<ref name="BWP" /> It is constructed by the female from [[seaweed]] and dead grass, and lined with finer fibres or hair.<ref name="simms" />

The clutch is four to six eggs, glossy pale grey with darker grey or olive speckles mainly at the wider end. They measure {{convert|21.6|x|16.0|mm|in}} and weigh {{convert|2.7|g|oz}},{{efn|For ''A. p. petrosus'' and ''A. p. littoralis''. The formerly sometimes accepted subspecies ''A. p. kleinschmidti'' is reported to have fractionally larger eggs at {{convert|22.2|x|16.1|mm|in}}.<ref name="simms" />}}<ref name="simms" /> of which 5% is shell.<ref name="bto">{{cite web |url=http://app.bto.org/birdfacts/results/bob10142.htm |title=Rock Pipit ''Anthus petrosus'' [Montagu, 1798] |date=16 July 2010 |publisher=[[British Trust for Ornithology]] |access-date=8 October 2016}}</ref> They are incubated for 14–16&nbsp;days to hatching, almost entirely by the female, although males have been recorded as occasionally helping.<ref name="simms" /> The naked [[altricial]] chicks are brooded by the female and [[fledge]] in about 16&nbsp;days.<ref name="BWP" /> Both parents may feed the chicks for several days after fledging.<ref name="hbw" /> There may be two broods in a year in the south of the pipit's range, and just one further north.<ref name="BWP" />

In a British survey, a hatching rate of 82% and a fledging rate of 78% gave an overall 58% nesting success,<ref name="simms" /> with an average 2.5 surviving young per pair. In contrast, a study in northwestern France found juvenile mortality was nearly 70%.<ref name="hbw" /> The average lifespan is not recorded,<ref name="bto" /> although the maximum recorded age is 10.9 years.<ref name="euring">{{cite web |url=http://www.euring.org/data-and-codes/longevity-list?page=4 |title=EURING list of longevity records for European birds. |last1=Fransson |first1=T |last2=Kolehmainen |first2=T |last3=Kroon |first3=C |last4=Jansson |first4=L |last5=Wenninger |first5=T |publisher=EURING |access-date=8 October 2016}}</ref>

===Feeding===
The European rock pipit's feeding habitat is rocky [[coast]]s, rather than the damp [[grassland]] favoured by the water pipit.<ref name="macmillan" /> The European rock pipit feeds mainly on [[invertebrate]]s, seeking out most of its prey on foot, only occasionally flying to catch insects. It will venture into shallow water as it follows retreating waves,<ref name="BWP" /> and may take advantage of human activity that exposes [[Ligia oceanica|sea slaters]] or other species that hide under stones.<ref name="simms" />

Food items include [[land snail|snails]], [[Annelid|worms]], small [[crustacean]]s, [[fly|flies]] and [[beetle]]s. The proportions of each prey species vary with season and locality. [[Amphipoda|Amphipod]] [[larva]]e are important in Ireland and Scotland, crustaceans in Norway, and the [[mollusc]] ''[[Assiminea grayana]]'' in the Netherlands.<ref name="hbw" /> Small fish are occasionally eaten, and in hard weather pipits may scavenge for other food, including human food litter. There is little competition from other species for food, since rocky beach specialists like the [[purple sandpiper]] take slightly larger food items, and may wade in deeper water. When food is abundant, meadow pipits may also feed on the shore, but are driven away by the European rock pipits when there is less prey available.<ref name="simms" />

==Predators and parasites==
The European rock pipit is hunted by [[Bird of prey|birds of prey]] including the [[Eurasian sparrowhawk]].<ref name="Newton">{{cite book |last=Newton |first=Ian |author-link=Ian Newton |year=2010 |orig-year=1986 |title=The Sparrowhawk (Poyser monographs) |page=368 |publisher=Poyser |location=London |isbn=978-1-4081-3834-2}}</ref><ref name="SOC">{{cite book |last=Somerset Ornithological Society |title=Annual report |publisher=Somerset Ornithological Society |volume=80 |year=1994 |location=Chard, Somerset |page=34}}</ref> As with other members of its genus, it is a host of the [[common cuckoo]], a [[brood parasite]].<ref name="rose">{{cite journal |last=Rose |first=Laurence N |title=Breeding ecology of British pipits and their Cuckoo parasite |journal=Bird Study |volume=29 |pages=27–40 |year=1982 |issue=1 |doi=10.1080/00063658209476735|doi-access=free |bibcode=1982BirdS..29...27R }}</ref> Eggs laid by cuckoos that specialise in using pipits as their hosts are similar in appearance to those of the pipit.<ref name= soler>{{cite journal |last1=Soler |first1=Juan J |last2=Vivaldi |first2=Manuel Martín |last3=Møller |first3=Anders P |title=Geographic distribution of suitable hosts explains the evolution of specialized gentes in the European cuckoo ''Cuculus canorus'' |journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology |volume=9 |issue=88 |pages=1–10 |year=2009 |doi=10.1186/1471-2148-9-88 |pmid=19405966 |pmc=2683792 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2009BMCEE...9...88S }}</ref>

The European rock pipit is also a host to the [[flea]] ''[[Ceratophyllus borealis]]'',<ref name="Miriam Rothschild 1953">{{cite book |title=Fleas, Flukes and Cuckoos. A study of bird parasites. |last1=Rothschild |first1=Miriam |author1-link=Miriam Rothschild |last2=Clay |first2=Theresa |year=1953 |publisher=Collins |location=London |pages=66, 111}}</ref> and several other flea species in the [[genera]] ''[[Ceratophyllus]]'' and ''[[Dasypsyllus]]''.<ref name="fleasnhm">{{cite web |url=http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/scientific-resources/biodiversity/uk-biodiversity/british-flea-distribution/database/Searchpage.do?species=&fleaname=&county=&host=&hostname=Rock%20Pipit&sortorder=&publication=&search=Search&listoption= |title=Distribution of British fleas: Rock pipit |publisher=Natural History Museum |access-date=9 October 2016}}</ref> The Eurasian rock pipit can benefit from parasitism of the [[common periwinkle]] ''Littorina littoria'' by the [[Parasitic castration|castrating]] [[trematoda|trematode]] ''[[Parorchis acanthus]]''. Beaches can become attractive where the decline of the periwinkle results in more ungrazed [[alga]]e, with corresponding increases in invertebrates and a greater diversity of smaller ''[[Littorina]]'' snails as food for the pipits.<ref name="poulin" >{{cite book |last=Poulin |first=R |title=Parasites in Marine System |publisher=Cambridge University Press |series=Parasitology |year=2004 |location=Cambridge |pages=8110–8111 |isbn=978-0-521-53412-3}}</ref>

==Status==
Estimates of the breeding population of the European rock pipit vary,<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> but may be as high as 408,000 pairs, of which around 300,000 pairs are in Norway. Despite slight declines in the British population and some range expansion in Finland, the population is considered overall to be large and stable,<ref name="hbw" /> and for this reason it is evaluated as a [[species of least concern]] by the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature|IUCN]].<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" />

Breeding densities vary from 0.9–6&nbsp;pairs/km (1.4–9.7&nbsp;pairs/mi) of coast depending on the quality of the habitat. There are few threats, although [[oil spill]]s can temporarily reduce the invertebrate population of affected rocky coasts.<ref name="hbw" />

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Anthus-petrosus Xeno-canto: audio recordings of the European rock pipit]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q642685}}

[[Category:Anthus]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1798]]
[[Category:Birds of Europe]]
[[Category:Birds of Scandinavia]]
[[Category:Pipits and wagtails]]
[[Category:Taxa named by George Montagu (naturalist)]]