View source for Tree pipit

{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = 20211016073101 IMG 0067~4.jpg
| image_caption = At Jamnagar, during wintering
| image2 = Tree Pipit (Anthus trivialis) (W1CDR0001425 BD8).ogg
| image2_caption = Song, recorded Devon, England
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2018 |title=''Anthus trivialis'' |volume=2018 |page=e.T22718546A131985523 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22718546A131985523.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Anthus
| species = trivialis
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]])
| range_map = AnthusTrivialisIUCNver2018 2.png
| range_map_caption =  Range of ''A. trivialis''{{leftlegend|#00FF00|Breeding|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#007FFF|Non-breeding|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#00FFFF|Passage|outline=gray}} 
| synonyms = * ''Alauda trivialis'' {{small|Linnaeus,&nbsp;1758}}
}}

The '''tree pipit''' ('''''Anthus trivialis''''') is a small [[passerine]] [[bird]] which breeds across most of Europe and the [[Palearctic]] as far East as the [[East Siberian Mountains]]. It is a long-distance [[bird migration|migrant]] moving in winter to Africa and southern Asia. The scientific name is from [[Latin]]: ''anthus'' is the name for a small bird of grasslands, and the specific '' trivialis'' means "common".

The breeding habitat is open woodland and scrub. The nest is placed on the ground, with usually 4–6 eggs being laid. This species is insectivorous, like its relatives, but will also take seeds.

==Taxonomy==
The tree pipit was [[Species description|formally described]] by the Swedish naturalist [[Carl Linnaeus]] in 1758 in the [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|tenth edition]] of his ''[[Systema Naturae]]'' under the [[binomial nomenclature|binomial name]] ''Alauda trivialis''. Linnaeus noted that the species occurred in Sweden.<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 | location=Holmiae (Stockholm) | language=Latin | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727073 }}</ref> The specific epithet ''trivialis'' is [[Latin]] meaning "common" or "ordinary" from Latin ''trivium'' meaning "public street".<ref>{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 | page=391 | url=https://archive.org/stream/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling#page/n391/mode/1up }}</ref> The tree pipit is now placed in the [[genus]] ''[[Anthus]]'' that was introduced in 1805 by the 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 | volume=2 | 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=9 June 2021 }}</ref>

Two subspecies are recognised:<ref name=ioc/>
* ''A. t. trivialis'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – breeds across Europe to southwest Siberia, north Iran and Turkey, east Kazakhstan, southcentral Siberia, Mongolia and northwest China; winters in India and Africa. Includes proposed subspecies ''sibiricus''.
* ''A. t. haringtoni'' [[Harry Forbes Witherby|Witherby]], 1917 – breeds in northwest Himalayas; winters in central India

==Description==

This is a small [[pipit]], which resembles [[meadow pipit]]. It is an undistinguished-looking species, streaked brown above and with black markings on a white belly and buff breast below. It can be distinguished from the slightly smaller meadow pipit by its heavier bill and greater contrast between its buff breast and white belly. Tree pipits more readily perch in trees.

The call is a strong ''spek'', unlike the weak call of its relative. The song flight is unmistakable. The bird rises a short distance up from a tree, and then parachutes down on stiff wings, the song becoming more drawn out towards the end.

==Life cycle==

*mid-September to mid-April: lives in sub Saharan Africa
*mid April to beginning of May: migrates and arrives in countries such as the United Kingdom
*beginning of May to August: breeding season, two [[offspring|brood]]s
*August to mid September: flies back to Saharan Africas

==Distribution and habitat==

The tree pipit breeds in habitats with a wooded component, including [[lowland heath]] and [[coppice]].  It is found mostly in open woodland on the boundary with [[moorland]], or open structured oak woodland – therefore heavy thinning is required to produce a gappy character.  It prefers low canopy medium-sized trees, where there is low-growing scrub and bramble less than 2 metres high, so that horizontal visibility is relatively high.  It likes a mosaic of grass and bracken, but not very grazed short turf, so light to moderate grazing is preferred.<ref name=hbw>{{ cite book | last=Tyler | first=Stephanie J. | 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 | location=Barcelona, Spain | publisher=Lynx Edicions | isbn=978-84-87334-69-6 | pages=686–786 [765] ]| chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/handbookofbirdso0009unse/page/765/mode/1up | chapter-url-access=registration }}</ref>

==Behaviour==
===Breeding===
[[File:Tree Pipit nest and eggs.jpg|thumb|upright|A tree pipit nest found in clearfell habitat, Northern England, holding a clutch of six eggs of the darker variation.]]

Tree pipits nest on the ground amongst [[Grass tussock|grass]] or [[Calluna|heather]] tussocks. The nest is built by the female. The clutch of 4 to 6 eggs is incubated by the female. The eggs hatch after 12–14 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and leave the nest after 12–14 days. The nests are sometimes parasitized by the [[common cuckoo]] (''Cuculus canorus'').<ref name=hbw/>

===Feeding===
Tree pipits mainly eat [[invertebrate]]s, typically insects but will also eat some plant material. They mostly forage on the ground.<ref name=hbw/>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Side view of Tree Pipit.jpg|At [[Rajkot]]
File:Oriental Tree Pipit.jpg|In India
File:Anthus trivialis MWNH 1577.JPG|Eggs, Collection [[Museum Wiesbaden, Germany]]
File:Tree Pipit (Anthus trivialis)-1.jpg|In flight
File:Tree Pipit (Anthus trivialis)at Sindhrot near Vadodara, Gujrat Pix 243.jpg|In [[Gujarat]], India
File:Baumpieper (Anthus trivialis), Kappertzvenn bei Mürringen, Ostbelgien (3939066668).jpg|In Belgium
File:Tree Pipit Grönvold.jpg|Historical illustration from 1907-1908 by [[Henrik Grönvold]]
File:TreePipit DSCN2295.jpg|Tree pipit wintering in Anamalai Hills, India
Cuculus canorus canorus MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.150.18.jpg|''Cuculus canorus canorus'' in a clutch of ''Anthus trivialis'' - [[MHNT]]
Anthus trivialis trivialis MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.204.26.jpg|''Anthus trivialis trivialis'' - [[MHNT]]
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Anthus trivialis}}
{{Wikispecies|Anthus trivialis}}
*[http://aulaenred.ibercaja.es/wp-content/uploads/312_TreePipitAtrivialis.pdf Ageing and sexing (PDF; 1.7 MB) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze]
*[http://www.ornithos.de/Ornithos/Feather_Collection/Anthus_trivialis/Anthus_trivialis.htm Feathers of Tree pipit (Anthus trivialis)]
*{{Avibase|name=Anthus trivialis}}
*{{Field guide birds of the world|Anthus trivialis}}
* Tree pipit - [http://sabap2.adu.org.za/docs/sabap1/722.pdf Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds].

{{Taxonbar|from=Q143313}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Anthus]]
[[Category:Birds of Eurasia]]
[[Category:Birds of Russia]]
[[Category:Birds of Africa]]
[[Category:Birds of South Asia]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1758]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]