Anthus pratensis
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Mass
~20 g
Habitat
Grasslands and meadows
Diet
Insects and invertebrates
How to recognize it
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.
Quick Facts
Listen to the call
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.
