Meadow Pipit (was - bird id please)

TechnoFreek

Hey guys, can anyone id this little fella for me please.

Apologies for the poor quality. He is a new visitor to my garden and quick on his feet. Don't have a camera more powerful to get up close.

He is about the size of a robin, maybe bigger. A Google search would suggest a pipit but what type? I'm in Arklow if that might point to a particular type.

Pie Man

meadow pipit?

Half-cocked

Pie Man wrote: »

meadow pipit?

I'd agree.

TechnoFreek

Thanks guys. All the images I've seen on the net of pipits look pretty much the same.

Any easily identifible differences?

V_Moth

TechnoFreek wrote: »

Thanks guys. All the images I've seen on the net of pipits look pretty much the same.

Any easily identifible differences?

They can be a bit confusing allright. Luckily, there are only two resident species in Ireland - Rock and Meadow Pipit, which you can identify without even getting good views of the bird.

Meadow Pipit: The commonest Pipit in Ireland, inhabiting bogs and open grassy areas throughout Ireland. The main call is a "viist" quickly repeated three or four times (http://www.xeno-canto.org/42673). Upper parts are pale brown/beige above, with relatively limited black streaking on the breast.

Rock Pipit: Confined to rocky coasts (never seen any distance inland). The call is a single "vusst", never given in a quick series like Meadow Pipit (http://www.xeno-canto.org/112460). The upper parts are grey or black, with extensive streaking below.

Tree Pipit occurs rarely on passage in spring and autumn (5 to 10 sightings/year), but it has a very different call to Meadow or Rock Pipit. Water Pipit is a very rare winter visitor to flooded wetlands along the south and east coast.