Anthus australis
Richard's Pipit is a well-camoflaged brown ground-dwelling bird. It has darker brown streaks above, and has pale creamy white stripes on the eyebrows and below the cheeks. The underparts are creamy white, spotted and streaked dark on the breast. The wings and tail are dark brown, with the outermost tail feathers white. The eye is brown and the bill and feet are pale pink-grey. Seen on the ground in open country, this species often wags its tail up and down while foraging. It is a slender bird, 16 to 19 cm long, and weighs about 40 grams. The plumage is pale brown above with dark streaks. The underparts are pale with streaks on the breast. There is a pale stripe over the eye and dark malar and moustachial stripes. The long tail has white outer-feathers and is often wagged up and down. The legs are long and pinkish-brown while the bill is slender and brownish.
Not Threatened
Richard's Pipit is a well-camoflaged brown ground-dwelling bird. It has darker brown streaks above, and has pale creamy white stripes on the eyebrows and below the cheeks. The underparts are creamy white, spotted and streaked dark on the breast. The wings and tail are dark brown, with the outermost tail feathers white. The eye is brown and the bill and feet are pale pink-grey. Seen on the ground in open country, this species often wags its tail up and down while foraging. It is a slender bird, 16 to 19 cm long, and weighs about 40 grams. The plumage is pale brown above with dark streaks. The underparts are pale with streaks on the breast. There is a pale stripe over the eye and dark malar and moustachial stripes. The long tail has white outer-feathers and is often wagged up and down. The legs are long and pinkish-brown while the bill is slender and brownish.
16-18 cm, 26 g
Taxonomy: Alauda novae Seelandiae J. F. Gmelin, 0, Queen Charlotte's Sound, South Island, New Zealand. May form a superspecies with A. richardi, A. rufulus and A. cinnamomeus, and all were formerly treated as conspecific; recent DNA studies, however, do not support a close relationship between them. New Guinea and Australian races often considered to represent a separate species; also, recent evidence suggests that some populations on offshore islands may merit subspecific or even specific status. Described race subaustralis (from WC Western Australia) merged with australis; likewise, reischeki and taupoensis (both North Island, New Zealand) synonymized with nominate. Nine subspecies recognized. (source: Handbook of the Birds of World)
Subspecies and Distribution:
- * exiguus Greenway, 1935 - EC New Guinea. * rogersi Mathews, 1913 - coastal NW Australia E to Cape York Peninsula. * bilbali Mathews, 1912 - SW Western Australia and SC South Australia. * australis Vieillot, 1818 - WC, C, E & SE Australia. * bistriatus ( Swainson, 1838) - Tasmania, and islands in Bass Strait (King I, Flinders I). * novaeseelandiae ( J. F. Gmelin, 1789) - New Zealand. * chathamensis Lorenz-Liburnau, 1902 - Chatham Is. * aucklandicus G. R. Gray, 1862 - Auckland Is. * steindachneri Reischek, 1889 - Antipodes Is.
Is found in open country, in a range of habitat types from wet heaths to dry shrublands and open woodland clearings.
Feeds on the ground on insects and their larvae, as well as seeds. It forages in a jerky, darting motion, stopping to perch on low stones or shrubs, wagging its tail up and down.
Richard's Pipits fomr breeding pairs after an elaborate courtship ritual, with males making swooping dives from a height, accompanied by a sweet trilling song. The nest is a depression in the ground, sometimes sheltered by a grass tussock, stone or piece of wood, and lined with grasses and hairs. The female incubates the eggs and feeds the young.