Family Pipits and Wagtails (Motacillidae)

Least Concern

Pechora Pipit (Anthus gustavi)

Taxonomy

French: Pipit de la Petchora German: Petschorapieper Spanish: Bisbita del Pechora

Taxonomy:

Anthus gustavi

Swinhoe

, 1863,

Amoy, China

Relationships unclear; possibly close to A. hodgsoni and A. trivialis. Race menzbieri considered a separate species by some taxonomists#R #R. Race stejnegeri, of which commandorensis is a junior synonym, sometimes considered inseparable from nominate#R. Three subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution

A. g. gustavi Swinhoe, 1863 – Pechora Pipit – N Russia from NW of Urals (W of R Pechora) E to Chukotskiy Peninsula, S to middle R Yenisey, middle R Lena and Kamchatka; migrates to Philippines, N Borneo and Wallacea.

A. g. stejnegeri Ridgway, 1883 – Commander Is; migrates probably to E Asia.

A. g. menzbieri Shulpin, 1928 – Menzbier's Pipit – Russian Far East (middle Amur Valley, S Ussuriland) and extreme NE China (E Heilongjiang); winters in Philippines.

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Descriptive notes

14 cm; 19·8–26 g. Distinctive pipit with heavily striped upperparts. Nominate race breeding has long, narrow buffish supercilium, ochre-buff ear-coverts... read more

Voice

Song, in flight, less often from perch or ground, rather quiet, a rapid trill as that of Wood... read more

Habitat

Breeds in bushy tundra and taiga swamps with tall dense sedges, reeds, shrubs and even trees, in... read more

Food and feeding

Mainly insects, including dragonflies (Odonata), hymenopterans, beetles (Coleoptera), flies (Diptera, especially of families Tipulidae,... read more

Breeding

Late Jun to Jul in Siberia; probably single-brooded. Apparently monogamous; territorial, although loose colonies have been reported. In... read more

Movements

Migratory; winter range inadequately known. Passage migrants recorded in Japan, Korea, E China,... read more

Status and conservation

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Widespread in subarctic tundra; little information on population levels, but reportedly not numerous. Difficult to locate owing to... read more

Bibliography

Public comments

Scientific classification

Class: Aves

Order: Passeriformes

Family: Motacillidae

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Has been subject to significant genetic research, but taxonomy of many species-groups (e.g. Motacilla alba) remains uncertain, in part due to insufficient taxon sampling. Most authors maintain pipits within a single genus, Anthus, although genera Corydalla (type species A. richardi) and Cinaedium (A. lineiventris) recently suggested as suitable for recognition in view of current phylogenetic knowledge. Generic limits among Tmetothylacus, Hemimacronyx and Macronyx also require further attention. Most surprisingly, two species (Amaurocichla bocagii and Madanga ruficollis) long placed in Sylviidae and Zosteropidae, respectively, have been moved to present family, and found to belong in Motacilla and Anthus, respectively#R.