Description:

Large pipit with long, stout legs, long toes and very long hind claw. Very similar in appearance to Paddyfield Pipit, with well-streaked upperparts and breast. Best told from that species by larger size, and loud schreep call. Pale lores help separate it from juvenile Tawny Pipit.

Distribution:

Winter vagrant mainly to the north-western areas of Ghizer, Gilgit, Nagar and Hunza. Prefers any open country, steppe grassland, paddyfields, stubble fields and cultivations, edges of reservoirs and marshy areas. On passage to 4000m.

Behavior:

Forages on the ground and picking terrestrial invertebrates. May associate with grazing livestock for insects. Diet mainly adult and larval insects, notably beetles and grasshoppers. Also feeds on spiders, caterpillars, flies, dragonflies, stoneflies and worms; and rarely on lacewings and bugs.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of Richard's Pipit in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Richard's Pipit

Resources:

Birds of Pakistan: Helm Field Guides (R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
The Birds of Pakistan (T. J. Roberts)
Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (C. Inskipp, R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide (P. Rasmussen & J. Anderton)
Birds of India: Collins Field Guide (N. Arlott)
Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan (S. Ali & S. D. Ripley)
Handbook of the Birds of the World (https://www.hbw.com)
The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 6th Edition
iNaturalist BoGB (inaturalist.org/projects/birds-of-gilgit-baltistan)
Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan (http://fb.me/birdsgb)

*Gallery images on this page are shared from flickr.com, and are copyrighted to their respective creators or owners.