Berthelot's pipit (''Anthus berthelotii'') is a small
passerine
A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by th ...
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
which breeds in
Madeira and the
Canary Islands. It is a common resident in both archipelagos.
Berthelot's pipit is found in open country. The nest is on the ground, with 3-5 eggs being laid.
This is a small
pipit
The pipits are a cosmopolitan genus, ''Anthus'', of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. Along with the wagtails and longclaws, the pipits make up the family Motacillidae. The genus is widespread, occurring across most of the world, ...
, in length. It is an undistinguished looking species on the ground, mainly grey above and whitish below, with some breast streaking. It has a whitish
supercilium and eyering, with dark eye and moustachial stripes. The sexes are similar, but juveniles are browner than adults.
This species appears shorter tailed and larger headed than
meadow pipit
The meadow pipit (''Anthus pratensis'') is a small passerine bird, which breeds in much of the Palearctic, from southeastern Greenland and Iceland east to just east of the Ural Mountains in Russia, and south to central France and Romania; an isol ...
. Its call is a "schrip" like
yellow wagtail, and the song, given in flight, is a chattery "tsivrr tsivrr tsivrr tsivrr".
This species is named after the French naturalist
Sabin Berthelot
Sabin Berthelot (4 April 1794 – 10 November 1880) was a French naturalist and ethnologist. He was resident on the Canary Islands for part of his life, and co-authored ''L'Histoire Naturelle des Îles Canaries'' (1835–50) with Philip Barker We ...
, one-time resident of the Canary Islands, by
Carl Bolle.
References
External links
Berthelot's pipitat Madeira Birdwatching
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1445158
Anthus
Birds of the Canary Islands
Birds of Madeira
Birds described in 1862
Taxa named by Carl Bolle