The South Georgia pipit (''Anthus antarcticus'') is a sparrow-sized bird only found on the

South Georgia South Georgia is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. ...

archipelago off the

Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martin in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctica. ...

. It is the only

songbird A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 5,00 ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

, South Georgia's only

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 ...

, and one of the few non-

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine ecosystem, marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent ...

s of the region. It builds nests from dried grass, usually within tussac grass, and lays four eggs a year. It feeds on small insects and spiders, and beach debris. It has been threatened by the human introduction of rats, and also by environmental damage caused by humans. It has been chosen as the poster bird of the South Georgia Heritage Trust's Habitat Restoration (Rat Eradication) project, which started eradicating rats on South Georgia in 2011. The project's baiting phase ended in early 2015, and success was confirmed in 2018. In 2004 the population was estimated to be 6000 to 8000 mature individuals. Prior to the restoration it was rare to see South Georgia pipits, most often on the rat-free Prion Island. Afterwards their numbers have increased noticeably and are much more often seen by visitors.

Description

The South Georgia pipit is a small and stocky pipit, long and weighing . The species has long legs and a long hindclaw and a short tail.

References

External links

BirdLife Species Factsheet
{{SGSSI South Georgia pipit Birds of islands of the Atlantic Ocean Birds of subantarctic islands Fauna of South Georgia South Georgia pipit Endemic birds of the South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands