Editing Meadow pipit

{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Speciesbox
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2021 |title=''Anthus pratensis'' |volume=2021 |page=e.T22718556A154480081 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22718556A154480081.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| image = Wiesenpieper_Meadow_pipit.jpg
| image_caption = [[File:Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis) (W1CDR0001526 BD4).ogg|thumb|center|Bird recorded in Surrey, England]]
| taxon = Anthus pratensis
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]])
| range_map = AnthusPratensisIUCNver2019 1.png
| range_map_caption = Range of ''A. pratensis''{{leftlegend|#00FF00|Breeding|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#008000|Resident|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#00FFFF|Passage|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#007FFF|Non-breeding|outline=gray}} 
| synonyms = ''Alauda pratensis'' {{small|Linnaeus,&nbsp;1758}}
}}

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 [[bird migration|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.<ref name=Snow>{{cite book |title=The Birds of the Western Palearctic |last=Snow |first=D. W. |author2=Perrins, C. M.| edition = Concise | year=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location= Oxford|isbn= 0-19-854099-X}}</ref><ref name=Hoyo>{{cite book| editor-last = Hoyo| editor-first = J. del| display-editors = etal| title = [[Handbook of the Birds of the World|Handbook of the Birds of the World, vol. 9]]| publisher = Lynx Edicions| year = 2004| location = Barcelona| pages = [https://archive.org/details/handbookofbirdso0001unse/page/763 763]| isbn = 84-87334-69-5}}</ref>

==Taxonomy==
The meadow pipit was [[Species description|formally described]] by Swedish naturalist [[Carl Linnaeus]] in 1758 in the [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|10th edition]] of his ''[[Systema Naturae]]'' under the [[binomial nomenclature|binomial name]] ''Alauda pratensis''.<ref>{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1758 | title= Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | volume=1 | edition=10th | page=166 | publisher=Laurentii Salvii | place=Holmiae (Stockholm) | language=Latin | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727073 }}</ref> The [[type locality (biology)|type locality]] is Sweden.<ref>{{ cite book | editor1-last=Mayr | editor1-first=Ernst | editor1-link=Ernst Mayr | editor2-last=Greenway | editor2-first=James C. Jr | year=1960 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=9 | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology  | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts  | page=159 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14480834 }}</ref> The meadow pipit is now the [[type species]] of the  genus ''[[Anthus]]'' that was introduced in 1805 by German naturalist [[Johann Matthäus Bechstein]].<ref>{{ cite book | last=Bechstein  | first=Johann Matthäus | author-link=Johann Matthäus Bechstein | date=1805 | title=Gemeinnützige Naturgeschichte Deutschlands nach allen drey Reichen | edition=2nd | language=German | location=Leipzig  | publisher=Bey Siegfried Lebrecht Crusiu | pages=247, 302 Note | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/31013292 }}</ref><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 | date=January 2021 | title=Waxbills, parrotfinches, munias, whydahs, Olive Warbler, accentors, pipits | work=IOC World Bird List Version 11.1 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/weavers/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=3 June 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{ cite book | editor1-last=Mayr | editor1-first=Ernst | editor1-link=Ernst Mayr | editor2-last=Greenway | editor2-first=James C. Jr | year=1960 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=9 | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology  | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts  | page=144 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14480819 }}</ref> The species is [[monotypic]]; no [[subspecies]] are recognised.<ref name=ioc/>

The [[genus|generic]] name ''Anthus'' is the [[Latin]] name for a small grassland bird mentioned by [[Pliny the Elder]], and the [[species|specific]] name ''pratensis'' means "of a meadow ", from ''pratum'',  "meadow".<ref>{{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], 315 }}</ref> The name "pipit", first documented by [[Thomas Pennant]] in 1768, is [[onomatopoeia|onomatopoeic]], from the call note of this species.<ref name=Lockwood>Lockwood, W. B. (1984). ''The Oxford Book of British Bird Names''. Oxford University Press {{ISBN|0-19-214155-4}}.</ref>  Old folk names, no longer used, include "chit lark", "peet lark", "tit lark", and "titling"; these refer to its small size and superficial resemblance to a [[lark]].<ref name=Lockwood/>

==Description==

This is a widespread and often abundant small [[pipit]], measuring {{convert|14.5–15|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=on}} in length and weighing {{convert|15–22|g|abbr=on}}. It is an indistinguishable-looking species on the ground, mainly brown above and buff below, with darker barring on most of its plumage; the tail is brown, with narrow white lateral edges. It has a thin bill and pale pinkish yellow legs; the rear claw is conspicuously long, longer than the rest of the rear toes. The call is a faint ''tsi-tsi''. The simple repetitive song is given in a short song flight.<ref name=Snow/><ref name=Hoyo/> Birds breeding in [[Ireland]] and western [[Scotland]] are slightly darker coloured than those in other areas, and are often distinguished as the [[subspecies]] ''A. p. whistleri'', though it intergrades clinally with [[Subspecies|nominate]] ''A. p. pratensis'' found in the rest of the species' range.<ref name=Snow/><ref name=Hoyo/>

It is similar to the [[red-throated pipit]] ''A. cervinus'', which is more heavily barred and (in summer only) has an orange-red throat, and to the [[tree pipit]] ''A. trivialis'', which is slightly larger, less heavily streaked, and has stronger facial markings and a shorter rear claw. The song of the meadow pipit accelerates towards the end, while that of the tree pipit slows down.<ref name=Snow/><ref name=Hoyo/>

==Distribution and habitat==

It is primarily a species of open habitats, either uncultivated or low-intensity agriculture, such as grassland, moorland, and heathland, but also occurs in small numbers on arable land. In winter, it also uses saltmarshes and sometimes open woodland. It is a fairly terrestrial pipit, always feeding on the ground, but using elevated perches such as shrubs, fence lines, or electric wires as vantage points to watch for predators.<ref name=Snow/><ref name=Hoyo/><ref name=ebcc>Hagemeijer, W. J. M., & Blair, M. J., eds. (1997). ''[[The EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds]]''. Poyser, London {{ISBN|0-85661-091-7}}.</ref>

The total population is estimated at 12 million pairs. It is an abundant species in the north of its range, and generally the most common breeding bird of the British uplands, but is less common further south. Breeding densities range from {{convert|80|/km2|/sqmi|disp=preunit| pairs|abbr=on }} in northern Scandinavia, to {{convert|5–20|/km2|/sqmi|disp=preunit| pairs|abbr=on}} in grassland in the south of the breeding range, and just {{convert|1|/km2|/sqmi|abbr=on}} in arable farmland.<ref name=Hoyo/><ref name=ebcc/> A few isolated breeding pairs are recorded from south of the main range, in the mountains of [[Spain]], [[Italy]], and the northern [[Balkans]].<ref name=Snow/> There has been a general decline in the population over the past 17 years, most notablly in French farmland, where the species has declined by 68%.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/11/science/farmland-birds-decline.html|title=Farmland Birds in France Are in Steep Decline|last=Gorman|first=James|date=2018-04-11|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-04-12|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==Behaviour==
===Breeding===

The nest is on the ground conclein dense vegetation, with two to seven (usually often three to five) eggs; the eggs hatch after 11–15 days, with the chicks fledging 10–14 days after hatching. Two broods are usually raised each year. This species is one of the most important nest hosts of the [[common cuckoo|cuckoo]], and it is also an important prey species for [[merlin (bird)|merlin]]s and [[hen harrier]]s.<ref name=Snow/><ref name=Hoyo/>

===Food and feeding===
Its diet mainly consists of [[insect]]s and other [[invertebrate]]s, mostly small items less than {{convert|5|mm|in|frac=32|abbr=on}} long. It also eats the seeds of [[Poaceae|grasses]], [[Cyperaceae|sedges]], [[Juncaceae|rushes]], and [[Calluna|heather]], and [[Empetrum|crowberry]] berries, especially in winter.<ref name=Snow/><ref name=Hoyo/>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Anthus pratensis.jpg|left|A meadow pipit perched on a fishing net
File:Anthus pratensis nest 2.jpg|left|Nest with eggs
File:Anthus pratensis MWNH 1590.JPG|Eggs, Collection [[Museum Wiesbaden]]
File:Cuculus canorus canorus MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.150.16.jpg|''Cuculus canorus canorus'' in a clutch of ''Anthus pratensis'' - [[MHNT]]
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Anthus pratensis}}
* [http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/meadow-pipit-anthus-pratensis Meadow pipit videos, photos & sounds] on the Internet Bird Collection
*[http://aulaenred.ibercaja.es/wp-content/uploads/313_MeadowPipitApratensis.pdf Ageing and sexing (PDF; 1.8 MB) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q26956}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Anthus|meadow pipit]]
[[Category:Birds of Europe]]
[[Category:Birds of North Africa]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1758|meadow pipit]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus|meadow pipit]]
[[Category:Holarctic birds]]