Editing Paddyfield pipit

{{short description|Species of bird}}
{{speciesbox
| image = Paddyfield pipit (Anthus rufulus rufulus).jpg
| image_caption = ''A. r. rufulus''<br>[[Kanha National Park]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[India]]
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Anthus rufulus'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T22718477A94582538 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22718477A94582538.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Anthus
| species = rufulus
| authority = [[Louis Pierre Vieillot|Vieillot]], 1818
| synonyms = ''Corydalla rufula''
}}
The '''paddyfield pipit''' or '''Oriental pipit'''<ref name=avi>{{avibase|57A0C80B2C7FBDE1|Paddyfield pipit}}</ref> ('''''Anthus rufulus''''') is a small [[passerine]] [[bird]] in the [[Motacillidae|pipit and wagtail]] family. It is a resident (non-[[bird migration|migratory]]) breeder in open scrub, grassland and cultivation in southern [[Asia]] east to the [[Philippines]]. Although among the few breeding pipits in the Asian region, identification becomes difficult in winter when several other species migrate into the region. The taxonomy of the species is complex and has undergone considerable changes.

==Description==

This is a large [[pipit]] at 15&nbsp;cm, but is otherwise an undistinguished looking bird, mainly streaked grey-brown above and pale below with breast streaking. It is long legged with a long tail and a long dark bill. Sexes are similar. Summer and winter plumages are similar. Young birds are more richly coloured below than adults and have the pale edges to the feathers of the upper parts more conspicuous with more prominent spotting on the breast. The population ''waitei'' from north-western India and [[Pakistan]] is pale while the population ''malayensis'' from the [[Western Ghats]] is larger, darker and more heavily streaked with the nominate ''rufulus'' intermediate.{{cn|date=November 2020}}

In winter some care must be taken to distinguish this from other pipits that winter in the area, such as [[Richard's pipit]], ''Anthus richardi'' and [[Blyth's pipit]], ''Anthus godlewskii''. The paddyfield pipit is smaller and dumpier, has a shorter looking tail and has weaker fluttering flight. The usually uttered characteristic ''chip-chip-chip'' call is quite different from usual calls of Richard's pipit (an explosive ''{{not a typo|shreep}}'') and Blyth's pipit (a nasal ''{{not a typo|pschreen}}''). The [[tawny pipit]] has less streaking on the mantle and has a black loreal stripe and a longer tail. The Western Ghats population can appear very similar to the [[Nilgiri pipit]].<ref name=pcr>{{cite book|author1=Rasmussen PC  |author2=JC Anderton  |name-list-style=amp | year=2005| title= Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Volume 2|page=318| publisher=Smithsonian Institution & Lynx Edicions}}</ref><ref name=fbi3>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/BakerFbiBirds3/BakerFBI3#page/n315/mode/1up|pages=290–291|author=Baker, ECS|year=1926|publisher=Taylor and Francis, London|title=Fauna of British India. Birds. Volume 3|edition=2nd}}</ref>

==Taxonomy and systematics==
Some of the subspecies in the group were formerly treated as a subspecies of the Australasian pipit ''[[Anthus novaeseelandiae]]'' and the grouping has been in state of flux.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=Dispersal%2C+Vicariance%2C+and+Clocks%3A+Historical+Biogeography+and+Speciation+in+a+Cosmopolitan+Passerine+Genus+%28Anthus%3A+Motacillidae%29&btnG= |title=Dispersal, Vicariance, and Clocks: Historical Biogeography and Speciation in a Cosmopolitan Passerine Genus (Anthus: Motacillidae)|author=Voelker, G|journal=Evolution| volume=53| issue=5|year=1999|pages=1536–1552|doi=10.1111/j.1558-5646.1999.tb05417.x |doi-access=free |jstor=2640899|pmid=28565564 |format=PDF}}</ref> Considerable colour and morphological variation with age and latitude make the species difficult to identify from museum specimens.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Hall, BP |year=1961| title= The taxonomy and identification of pipits (genus ''Anthus'')| journal=Bull. Br. Mus. (Nat. Hist.) Zool.|volume= 7|issue=5|pages=245–289|url=https://archive.org/stream/bulletinofbritis07zool#page/n328/mode/1up/}}</ref> Six subspecies are now included in this species.<ref name=ibc>{{cite web|url=http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/paddyfield-pipit-anthus-rufulus|title=Paddyfield pipit (Anthus rufulus) – the Internet Bird Collection}}</ref>
* ''rufulus'' described by [[Louis Pierre Vieillot]] in 1818 – found in most of Indian Subcontinent (except for the north-west, north and extreme south-west) east to southern China, south to southern Thailand and Indochina
* ''waitei'' described by [[Hugh Whistler]] in 1936 (not always recognized) is found in the dry zone of the north-western part of the Indian Subcontinent
* ''malayensis'' described by [[Thomas Campbell Eyton]] in 1839 is the dark form of the wet zone of the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka
* ''lugubris'' described by [[Viscount Walden]] in 1875 – found in Philippines; possibly also northern Borneo.
* ''albidus'' described by [[Erwin Stresemann]] in 1912 – found in Sulawesi, Bali and the western Lesser Sundas (Lombok, Sumbawa, Komodo, Padar, Rinca, Flores, Sumba).
* ''medius'' described by Wallace in 1864 – found in the eastern Lesser Sundas (Sawu, Roti, Timor, Kisar, Leti, Moa, Sermata).

Some authorities consider paddyfield pipit to be a [[subspecies]] of [[Richard's pipit]], ''A. richardi''.<ref name=avi/>

==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>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Paddyfield Pipit (Anthuis rufulus) with feed for Juveniles at Kolkata I IMG 7773.jpg|Carrying food for young ([[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], India
Image:Paddyfield Pipit- with some disease in the legs I IMG 1647.jpg|An individual with lesions on the legs ([[Purbasthali]], [[West Bengal]]
Image:Paddyfield Pipit (Anthus rufulus) calling at Sultanpur I Picture 189.jpg|Calling at [[Sultanpur National Park]] in [[Gurgaon]] District of [[Haryana]], India
Image:Nest Cup PaddyfieldPipit Topview.JPG|Cup shaped nest with three eggs from Hoskote near [[Bangalore]], India
Image:Nest Dome PaddyfieldPipit Sideview.JPG|Dome shaped nest from Hoskote near [[Bangalore]], India
Image:Paddyfield_Pipit.JPG|[[Mohali]], [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], India
Image:Paddyfield pipit from Dhaka.jpg|Wide-span flying Paddyfield pipit from [[Dhaka]], [[Bangladesh]]
File:MG 8236 PFP INW 01.jpg|Paddyfield pipit, taken at Basai wetlands, Haryana
Image:MG 8236 PFP INW 02.jpg|Paddyfield pipit, taken at Basai wetlands, [[Haryana]]
Image:Paddyfield Pipit in Black Soil.jpg|Paddyfield Pipit seen in [[Udumalpet]], [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]]
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Anthus rufulus}}
* [http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/paddyfield-pipit-anthus-rufulus Photos, videos and sounds] – Internet Bird Collection
* [http://orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?Bird_ID=2085 Photographs] – Oriental Bird Images

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1590538}}

[[Category:Anthus|paddyfield pipit]]
[[Category:Birds of Indomalaya]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1818|paddyfield pipit]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Louis Pierre Vieillot|paddyfield pipit]]