Birdwatching

SMALL PIPITS.


MEADOW AND TREE.

Where and When...

Meadow pipit is an abundant breeding, passage and wintering species throughout much of Europe.
Tree pipit is a summer visitor, breeding on heathland, woodland edges and rough ground with scattered trees.
Meadow and Tree... Similar, Separation, Complicated by seasonal and indivvidual variation in plumage tone and pattering, but with practice not difficult, though many distinguishing.
Call...The easiest distinction. Meadow has familiar (sip sip sip) number of notes varies, as does power of delivery.
Tree has short, incisive (zeep), spzeep ) or a more scolding (speez), in flight, also a very soft, barely audible, single (sip).
On breeding grounds, both species utter variety of calls.. Meadow gives dry SI-SIP or soft, nevous (sitip). Tree gives soft (sip) alarm call.
Song...Diagnostic. Meadow gives accelerating sequence of tinkling notes a it rises in song flight, succeeded by more musical note and ending as trill as it descends. Tree gives similar sequence but louder and fuller, vaguely suggesting chaffinch, and ending with a characteristic loud far carrying flourish (seea seea seea).
Structure... Subtle but definite differences. Tree is slightly bigger, longer, heftier and more wedge-shaped bill angled upwards from (face).
Meadow is rounder-headed and less streamlined. Tree's longer wins readily apparent in flight, producing slightly stronger, more purposeful flight than Meadow. Length of hind claw diagnostic short and arched on Tree, much longer and straighter on Meadow(difference difficult to see in the field)



Behaviour... Tree is far more arboreal than Meadow, but Meadow readily perches on trees and bushes, particularly when flushed. When, feeding, Meadow wanders rather aimlesssly through vegetation, Tree is stealthier and more purposeful, though rather furtive.



Plumage...Differences in plumage have to be evaluated sensibly, bearing in mind that adults show considerable, waer by mid summer. In frech autumn plumage, Meadow has greenich tint to upperparts and olive buff wach to underparts. Spring adults are generally brownner above and whiter below, showing little hint of green tones.

Some particularly pale, cold, stripy. Meaow pipit from Iceland pass through western areas in spring and autumn, may be confusable. Tree pipit is better marked than Meadow , and following differences most useful.


Facial pattern... Tree has, on average, better marked supercilium from eye back and more prominent dark eye stripe behind eye. On Meadow, supercilium and eye stripe more subdued and lores usually plain.
Troat and breast colour... Tree has submoustachial stripe, throat and breast strongly tinged, orangy buff, contrasting with whitish belly. Breast and flank streaking ...Tree has goget of neat, well defined streaks across breat, giving way on flanks to faint pencil streaking .
On Meadow, breast streaking more random, and often streaks coalesce to form dark spot in centre of breast, unlike Tree, streaking extends quite strongly on to flanks.

Flank streaking perhaps best and most consistent individual plumage difference.
Upperparts look more contrazty on Tree wingbars and tertial edgings generally more prominent, and dark centres to median coverts form blackish bar, this often highlighted by contrasting white feather edgins.
In summer, Meadow is noticeably, colder, greyer, plainer and often tattier than Tree, lacking strong greenish or buffy tone, but Tree also wear and fade by mid summer, becoming browner and plainer. So I hope I was of some help....