Tree Pipit

This is a small pipit that resembles the meadow pipit. It is an undistinguished looking species, with brown stripes above and with black markings on white underparts and buff breast below. It can be differentiated from the slightly smaller meadow pipit by its heavier bill and greater contrast between its buff breast and white belly. Tree pipits are more likely to perch in trees. The call is a strong spek, unlike the weak call of its relative. The song flight is unmistakable. The bird rises a short distance up from a tree, and then parachutes down on stiff wings, the song becoming more drawn out towards the end.

The tree pipit breeds in habitats with a wooded component, including lowland heath and coppice. It is most common in open woodland bordering on moorland or in open structured oak woodland – hence the need for heavy thinning to create a gappy structure. It prefers medium-sized trees with a low canopy, where there is low-growing scrub and brambles less than 2 metres high, so that horizontal visibility is relatively good. It likes a mosaic of grass and bracken, but not heavily grazed short turf, so light to moderate grazing is preferred.

mid-September to mid-April: lives in sub Saharan Africa mid April to beginning of May: migrates and arrives in countries such as the United Kingdom beginning of May to August: breeding season, two broods August to mid September: flies back to Saharan Africas