Pipits in places

Australasian Pipits are often distant specks on tracks, that I squint at before they dart away, low over the ground, showing the white edges of their tails as they go.

Australasian Pipit (Anthus australis)
1/1600, f/5.6, ISO 800, focal length 560mm
Canon 5DsR, Canon 200-400mm L IS USM EXT

They are small birds, measuring about 17cm and weighing in at 26g. They are well camouflaged especially when foraging on the ground for invertebrates and seeds.

The bird above has a strange little critter in its bill that I’m hoping someone will be able to identify. I was a long way from the pipit and didn’t realise it was holding a bug until I saw the image on the back of my camera. I choose not to knowingly photograph nesting birds so I left this little one in peace to feed its nestlings.

Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis)
1/1000, f/8.0, ISO 800, focal length 560mm
Canon 5DsR, Canon 200-400mm L IS USM EXT

The image above is how I typically see Australasian Pipits and Eurasian Skylarks, a long way off, on the ground, blending perfectly with their surrounds and being photographed while I’m peeking through my vehicle window trying not to flush them. If I’d increased the depth of field in this photograph (by using a different f/stop) the bird would blend with the background, by keeping a shallow depth of field and focusing directly on the bird (preferably on its eye) the bird stands out from the background.

Thanks to Nikolas Haass, from the Australian Bird Identification Facebook page, I now know that the bird above is a worn juvenile Eurasian Skylark. These skylarks were introduced from the United Kingdom, they measure about 18cm, near enough the same as the pipits, but are stockier, weighing in at about 38g.

Australasian Pipit (Anthus australis)
1/500, f/5.6, ISO 160
Canon 7D, Canon 100-400mm L IS USM

Several years ago, in the days before the 7DII, the 5DIII and the 5DsR, I photographed this stunning young pipit. The Australian Bird Guide shows the russet coloured shoulders on juvenile birds.

When I began bird photography I used aperture priority though it wasn’t long before I changed to full manual, which I definitely recommend. I shudder to look at the settings for the image above though they somehow worked for this shot. I wouldn’t use such a low shutter speed by preference now, nor such a low ISO.

Australasian Pipit (Anthus australis)
1/1600, f/6.3, ISO 800, focal length 533mm
Canon 5DsR, Canon 200-400mm L IS USM EXT

The photograph above is one of my favourite Australasian Pipit shots. I don’t often get to see them with such a clear background, though they do like to hop onto rocks and logs to look around and check out what’s happening in the area.

Some of the exquisite details of these little brown birds can be seen in this sequence of shots. Their bills are dark above and lighter below, and longer and narrower than the bills of the very similar Eurasian Skylark (which I wish would always keep its crest raised!) Pipits have bright white throats and variable striations on their underparts. Their upperparts are various shades of brown, edged with buff and their legs are brownish-pink.

Reading the Australian Bird Guide I see that Eurasian Skylarks have ‘very long hindclaws’ which is a detail I wouldn’t have known without the guide. The bird in the top image seems to have very long hindclaws but it is clearly a pipit. I keep checking them to make sure the others are pipits too! I’m always happy to be corrected, and I really would like to know what family the little bug belongs to.

Happy birding

Kim

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