Wagtails and pipits · Perching birds
Meadow Pipit
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Anthus pratensis
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Voice
Song
Call
Call
How to recognize it
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15 cm, slightly smaller than a lark
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Brown above, buff below, with fine dark streaking throughout
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Thin bill, pinkish-yellow legs, notably long hind claw
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Faint "tsi-tsi"; simple repetitive song in a short flight display
About the species
Meadow Pipit is unobtrusive and light-looking, a small presence on open ground. On the ground it blends into grass and bare soil, but in motion the thin bill, pale legs, and long hind claw stand out.
It stays low-key and cautious, feeding mostly on the ground and often using bushes, fence lines, or wires as lookout posts. Its voice is thin and brief, and the male’s song is usually given in a short display flight, rising quickly and then dropping back down.
It favours damp meadows, marshes, cleared areas, open tundra, and mountain tundra. In summer it feeds mainly on small insects and spiders, adding seeds and small snails in winter; in much of its range it migrates south, while in western Europe it stays year-round.
Where to find
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On wet meadows, rough vacant lots, and open grassy edges near water — it stays low, sprinting between tufts and flushing from underfoot.
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Along canal banks, pond margins, and shallow reedy shores — look for it feeding on the open strip of grass beside the water.
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On floodplain lawns and grassy embankments — it often pauses on a low bush or fence wire, then drops back to the ground to feed.
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In damp clearings and overgrown city edges — listen for the thin "tsi-tsi" call, especially early in the morning.
