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Tree Pipit (Anthus trivialis) — photo 1 of 3
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Wagtails and pipits · Perching birds

Tree Pipit

Anthus trivialis

Voice

Call

Philippe_Grange

0:24

Song

Camille Vacher

0:12

Call

Sonothèque ADVL

0:05

How to recognize it

  • Smaller and slimmer than a sparrow, 16–20 cm

  • Brownish-grey upperparts, dark streaking

  • Pale buff underparts, dark streaks on breast and flanks

  • Calls: "tsee-tsee", "psiit-psiit"

About the species

Tree Pipit is a plain, quietly active presence in open woodland and scrub. You are more likely to notice it perched in a tree or moving cautiously through grass and low cover than by any bright look.

Its call is sharp, and its song flight is easy to remember: it rises from a tree and then drops back on stiff wings, with the song stretching out near the end. It keeps a low profile and rarely draws much attention.

It favors open places with trees, shrubs, and a mix of grass and bracken. It feeds mainly on insects, but also takes seeds, and it leaves for Africa and southern Asia in winter.

Where to find

  • In mature city parks and open groves with scattered big trees, its sharp call comes from the canopy before the tree pipit drops in a short song-flight arc.

  • Along scrubby edges with tall grass — often feeding on the ground, running between tussocks in quick bursts.

  • At canal banks, pond fringes, and damp vacant lots with sparse vegetation — easiest to notice at dawn when it perches on low branches or posts and calls from above.

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Sources