Blyth's pipit (''Anthus godlewskii'') is a medium-sized passerine bird which breeds in Mongolia and neighbouring areas of China, Tibet and India . It is a long distance migrant moving to open lowlands in Southern Asia. It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe. This is a large pipit, but is an undistinguished looking species on the ground, mainly brown above and pale below. It is very similar to Richard's pipit, but is slightly smaller, shorter legs and a shorter dark bill. Its flight is strong and direct, and it gives a characteristic "pshee" call, higher pitched than Richard's. In south Asia, in winter some care must be taken to distinguish this from other large pipits which winter or are resident in the area, including Richard's. This species is insectivorous. This bird was named after the English zoologist

Edward Blyth Edward Blyth (23 December 1810 – 27 December 1873) was an English zoologist who worked for most of his life in India as a curator of zoology at the museum of the Asiatic Society of India in Calcutta. Blyth was born in London in 1810. In 1841 ...

. The genus name ''Anthus'' is the Latin name for a small bird of grasslands. The specific ''godlewskii'' commemorates Polish nobleman and field naturalist

Victor Godlewski Wictor Godlewski (30 December 1831 – 17 November 1900) was a Polish nobleman, explorer, and naturalist. After spending time in Siberian labour camps following his participation in the January Uprising, he began to study the natural history of th ...

Gallery

File:Blyth_s_Pipit_Anthus_godlewskii.jpg, Blyth's pipit File:Anthus godlewskii cropped.jpg, First winter plumage.

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Further reading

Identification