Paddyfield Pipit

The paddyfield pipit, or Oriental pipit, is a large pipit about 15cm long but otherwise undistinguished: streaked grey-brown above and pale below with a streaked breast, long legs, a long tail and a long dark bill. The sexes and seasons look alike, and young birds are richer below with more prominent breast spotting. Populations vary, north-western birds being paler and those of the Western Ghats larger, darker and more heavily streaked (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is one of the few pipits that breed in the region and is resident in open scrub, grassland and cultivation, especially short grass with bare ground. It runs quickly over the ground and, when flushed, does not fly far. In winter it must be separated from Richard's and Blyth's pipits, but it is smaller and dumpier with a shorter-looking tail and a weak, fluttering flight, and its usual call is a distinctive chip-chip-chip. It breeds through much of the year, mainly in the dry season. In India it is resident across a very large range; SoIB 2023 finds a current decline of about 3% a year and rates it a Low conservation priority (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).