
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 generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
which breeds in
Madeira
Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...
and the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...
. 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
The supercilium is a plumage feature found on the heads of some bird species. It is a stripe which runs from the base of the bird's beak above its eye, finishing somewhere towards the rear of the bird's head.Dunn and Alderfer (2006), p. 10 Also k ...
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 that breeds throughout much of the Palearctic, from south-eastern Greenland and Iceland east to just east of the Ural Mountains in Russia, and south to central France and Romania; ...
. 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 a resident of the Canary Islands for part of his life, and co-authored ''L'Histoire Naturelle des Îles Canaries'' (1835–50) with Philip Barker ...
,
Web Tenerife website, ''Le pipit de Berthelot''
/ref> one-time resident of the Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...
, by Carl Bolle.
References
External links
Berthelot's pipit
at Madeira Birdwatching
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1445158
Anthus
Birds of the Canary Islands
Birds of Madeira
Birds described in 1862
Taxa named by Carl Bolle