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24

European Rock Pipit (Anthus petrosus) German name(s): "Strandpieper" Size: 16.5-17 cm; wing span: 23-28 cm Body mass: 18-32 g Wing loading [g/cm2]: 0.20-0.26

Europe: Family Group 24 Family Group 24 Table White Wagtail Western Yellow Wagtail Grey Wagtail Tawny Pipit Berthelot's Pipit Red-throated Pipit Tree Pipit Meadow Pipit Water Pipit Eurasian Rock Pipit Greater Short-toed Lark Calandra Lark Woodlark Eurasian Skylark Bearded Reedling House Sparrow Tree Sparrow Spanish Sparrow Rock Sparrow Trumpeter Finch European Serin Atlantic Canary Red-fronted Serin Eurasian Siskin Common Redpoll Arctic Redpoll Twite Common Linnet Brambling Common Chaffinch European Goldfinch Eurasian Bullfinch Hawfinch Common Crossbill Common Rosefinch Yellowhammer Cirl Bunting Common Reed Bunting Little Bunting Ortolan Bunting Black-headed Bunting Corn Bunting Rock Bunting House Bunting Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description European Rock Pipits are a small member of the genus Anthus. Their plumage is highly cryptic. When the plumage is fresh, the cap and mantle are grey, with fine dark-grey streaks. The supercilia are light-grey. The front is creamy, with heavy olive-brown streaks, mostly on the chest, but also on the sides. The streaks on the sides are more bolder than down the middle of the front. As the plumage wears, the head turns olive-brown as well. The wing feathers are olive-brown to dark-grey as well, with creamy edges. The eyes have dark irises. The slender, straight bill is dark-grey in summer, while in winter the lower mandible has an horn-coloured base. The legs and feet are dark-grey.

Taxonomy, classification See European Rock Pipit at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Eurasian Rock Pipit is available HERE . Eurasian Rock Pipits are a partly sedentary, partly migratory species, of which there are 3 recognized extant races. They are found only in coastal areas, and their overall range extends from the coastline of north-western Africa, via the western European Atlantic coastline (with winter quarters otherwise only found on the Cote d'Azur), to the coastlines of Scandinavia (both Atlantic Ocean and Baltic Sea), the British Isles and Ireland, plus Iceland. In north-western Africa they only overwinter, while their breeding range is confined to Europe. In Europe, European Rock Pipits, nominate race "petrosus", are permanent residents only in Bretagne and Normandy, much of the coastlines of the British Isles and all of Ireland, and in parts of Denmark and southern Norway. Everywhere else (races "littoralis" and "kleinschmidti") they are migratory. During the summer their breeding range is expanded along the coastlines of Scandinavia (race "littoralis"), while along the southern Baltic Sea they are only found in transit. Race "kleinschmidti" is resident on Shetland, Orkney, Fair Isle and St. Kilda. In the summer they extend their breeding range also to the Faroe Islands. From Iberia via much of the French, Belgian, Dutch and German Atlantic/North Sea coastline the migratory populations are winter visitors. European Rock Pipits have a preference for rocky coastlines and islands.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "petrosus"(?) G. Normand reports finding a European Rock Pipit, nominate race petrosus"(?), near both Quimper and Vannes, Bretagne, France, in August 2020. C. Pears spotted European Rock Pipits, nominate race petrosus", at in Clonakilty, County Cork, Ireland, August 2023.

Photos

Race "petrosus"(?)

ADULT

BREEDING

Full-frontal view of a European Rock Pipit in breeding plumage - note the dark bill (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Clonakilty, County Cork, Ireland, August 2023]

Near-frontal view of a European Rock Pipit in breeding plumage looking sideways (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Clonakilty, County Cork, Ireland, August 2023]

Near-lateral view of a European Rock Pipit in breeding plumage appearing in a gap between two coastal rocks
(photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Clonakilty, County Cork, Ireland, August 2023]

Near-dorsal view of a European Rock Pipit in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Clonakilty, County Cork, Ireland, August 2023]

NON-BREEDING

Frontal view of a European Rock Pipit in non-breeding plumage - note the partly horn-coloured bill - in its favourite habitat (photo courtesy of G. Normand)
[Near Vannes, Bretagne, France, August 2020]

Near-frontal view of a European Rock Pipit in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of G. Normand)
[Near Quimper, Bretagne, France, August 2020]

Lateral view of a European Rock Pipit in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of G. Normand)
[Near Quimper, Bretagne, France, August 2020]

Lateral view of a European Rock Pipit in non-breeding plumage in its favourite habitat (photo courtesy of G. Normand)
[Near Vannes, Bretagne, France, August 2020]

Near-dorsal view of a European Rock Pipit in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of G. Normand)
[Near Quimper, Bretagne, France, August 2020]

Behaviour

Along parts of the European West coast, European Rock Pipits are sedentary. Elsewhere they are migratory.

2 European Rock Pipits in breeding plumage in their favourite habitat (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Clonakilty, County Cork, Ireland, August 2023]

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.