American Pipit - Anthus rubescens

Our walk at Abbott's Lagoon a few days back produced scores of American Pipits foraging on the sand near the lagoon's edge. As with many birds it works best if one just stands still in one spot and lets the bird approach, as moving towards it will cause it to flush. This one paused long enough for a photo, but usually they move along the sand in a constant search for prey items. I've noticed in the past that when the Pipit does pause for a bit it often stands near a plant or piece of debris on the sand.

Pipits usually forage in a loose group, looking mostly for insects, but will eat other fauna, and some seeds. Their busy foraging makes a good photo a challenge, as does the frequent bobbing of the tail. Note the streaked chest, warbler-like bill and pale throat. This one may be a juvenile bird, as the streaking on the breast is not heavy or well-defined. Here's another shot taken years ago along the coast. The streaking on the back and the pale legs suggest that it might be the asian subspecies:

The family Motacillidae consists of songbirds known as Wagtails and Pipits. The Wagtails tend to be more showy than the drab Pipits, but both pump their tails up and down much of the time, as seem in Spotted Sandpipers and others. Friends who travel a lot tell me that the pipits all look pretty much alike, which is to say it's difficult to identify the various taxa. This next shot is from one of my favorite local spots, the water treatment ponds of Las Gallinas, in San Rafael. Note how the bold streaking on the breast contrasts with the fainter streaking on the bird in the first photo:

There are some 65 species of Motacillids, distributed throughout the world. We have mainly the American Pipit, Anthus rubescens, while Sprague's Pipit is seen in the prairie states. The Red-throated Pipit appears here as a vagrant, as do at least 3 of the Wagtail species. The Water Pipit is a Eurasian species, closely related to the American Pipit, which was split from the Water Pipit not so long ago. So if you hear an old-timer call out "water pipit", you'll understand what is meant. We see the occasional Red-throated Pipit in the Bay Area, including spots such as the grassy areas of Crissey Field in S. F. and Arrowhead Marsh in Oakland. Key feature of the Red-throated is the bold streaking on the back and flanks. The red throat is a breeding plumage feature, but here you can see the suggestion of a red wash on the face: