Hellmayr's Pipit (Anthus hellmayri) [XC272873]
by Peter Boesman from El Infiernillo pass north of Tafi del Valle, Tucuman, Argentina (song)
Hellmayr's Pipit (Anthus hellmayri) [XC556135]
by Fernando Igor de Godoy from Campos do Jord\u00e3o - General area, Brazil (canto)
Subspecies
Molecular-genetic analyses suggest possible close relationship with Sprague's Pipit (Anthus spragueii), Short-billed Pipit (Anthus furcatus) and Paramo Pipit (Anthus bogotensis) and all may belong to a clade that also includes Yellowish Pipit (Anthus lutescens), Correndera Pipit (Anthus correndera) and South Georgia Pipit (Anthus antarcticus). DNA studies also suggest that nominate subspecies and brasilianus, geographically isolated from each other and differing significantly in size, plumage colour and pattern, and voice, may represent two separate species. Subspecies dabbenei possibly inseparable from nominate, but also geographically remote.
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:
hellmayri Hartert, 1909 - Eastern Andean slopes from south-eastern Peru (Puno) south to north-western Argentina (south to Tucumán, also in Sierras de Córdoba).
dabbenei Hellmayr, 1921 - Highlands of southern Argentina in Neuquén and western Chubut, also south-eastern Río Negro (Somuncurá Plateau); probably also adjacent southern Chile.
brasilianus Hellmayr, 1921 - South-eastern Brazil (southern from Espírito Santo), south-eastern Paraguay, north-eastern and eastern Argentina (Corrientes, eastern Buenos Aires) and Uruguay.
BirdLife International Species Factsheet