Australian Pipit (Anthus australis)

Other Names (World)
Australian Pipit, Richard's Pipit, Indian Pipit, New Zealand Pipit, Southern Pipit, Western Pipit, Groundlark, Ground Lark, Australian Groundlark, Native Lark

Family
Motacillidae (Pipits And Wagtails)

Size
16 - 18 cm

First Described (Guide)
Vieillot, 1818

Derivation
An'-thus - Gk, anthos, bird: australis - L., southern (Australia)

Habitat
Open country, forest clearings, grassland, grassy woodlands, beaches and hind-dunes, grassy roadside.

Range (Guide)

Australia.

Habits
Usually singly and less often in twos. Sometimes in small parties.

Food
Invertebrates, including insects, earthworms, spiders, crustaceans, millipedes and snails and seeds, particularly clover, grasses and thistles.

Voice
Call: Thin 'tswee' or sparrow-like 'chirrup'. Song: Repeated trilled 'peet' in flight.

(34Kb) © ? (1)

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (12)...)

Australian Pipit (Anthus australis) [XC605814]
by Marc Anderson from Ben Boyd National Park -- Green Cape, Australia (uncertain)

Australian Pipit (Anthus australis) [XC826877]
by Mark Harper from Loccota, Flinders Council, Tasmania, Australia (flight call)

Nest
Cup-shaped, composed of dried grasses, in a hollow in the ground, near or under a tussuck of grass, sometimes near a stone or bush.

Eggs (Guide)
2 - 4; off-white to light brown, spotted and clouded with dark grey and brown; tapered-oval; about 23 x 17 mm. Incubation: about 13 - 14 days; by female.

Young
Semi-altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in about 12 - 15 days. Fed by both parents.

Subspecies
Not recognised as a species by BirdLife International. Considered a subspecies of Australasian Pipit (Anthus novaeseelandiae).

Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Australasian Pipit (Anthus novaeseelandiae).

The following 5 subspecies are recognised:

australis Vieillot, 1818 - West-central, central, eastern and south-eastern Australia. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Australasian Pipit (Anthus novaeseelandiae).
bilbali Mathews, 1912 - South-western western Australia and south-central South Australia. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Australasian Pipit (Anthus novaeseelandiae).
rogersi Mathews, 1913 - Coastal north-western Australia east to Cape York Peninsula. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Australasian Pipit (Anthus novaeseelandiae).
bistriatus (Swainson, 1838) - Tasmania, and islands in Bass Strait (King I, Flinders I). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Australasian Pipit (Anthus novaeseelandiae).
exiguus Greenway, 1935 - East-central New Guinea. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Australasian Pipit (Anthus novaeseelandiae).

References
See References.

The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9

Files:

JPG files for Australian Pipit (Anthus australis) - 10 files

MP3 files for Australian Pipit (Anthus australis) - 1 files

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