Anthus hodgsoni
The Olive-backed Pipit, *Anthus hodgsoni*, is a medium-sized passerine bird belonging to the Motacillidae family, characterized by its distinctive olive-green upperparts and streaked underparts. Measuring approximately 14-16 cm in length with a wingspan of 25-28 cm and weighing around 18-25 grams, this pipit exhibits a subtle yet elegant appearance. Key field marks include a prominent pale supercilium, a dark eye-stripe, and often a whitish crescent below the eye, contrasting with its olive-b...
This species primarily breeds in coniferous and mixed broadleaf forests, often near clearings, rivers, or subalpine meadows at moderate to high elevations. During winter, it favors more open woodlands, forest edges, plantations, parks, and gardens, typically at lower altitudes.
The Olive-backed Pipit primarily consumes insects, including beetles, ants, flies, caterpillars, and grasshoppers, captured by ground gleaning or occasional short aerial sallies. During the winter months, they may supplement their insectivorous diet with small seeds.
Olive-backed Pipits are diurnal foragers, spending most of their active hours walking steadily or running in short bursts on the ground, gleaning insects. They frequently flick their tails while foraging, a characteristic trait of many pipits. Males establish territories with vibrant song flights...
The Olive-backed Pipit boasts an extensive Palearctic breeding range, spanning from western Siberia eastward across northern Asia, Sakhalin Island, Kamchatka Peninsula, and the Kuril Islands, south through Mongolia, Northeast China, Korea, and Japan, extending into the Himalayan mountains from no...
Least Concern
- Unlike many of its open-country pipit relatives, the Olive-backed Pipit prefers wooded and forested habitats, especially for breeding. - Its distinctive "pseep" call is often one of the best ways to identify this species, particularly during migration. - Olive-backed Pipits are renowned for the...