Water Pipit
Anthus spinoletta
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderPasseriformes
- FamilyMotacillidae (Wagtails and Pipits)
- GenusAnthus (Pipits)
- SpeciesAnthus spinoletta (Water Pipit)
The water pipit (Anthus spinoletta) is a small passerine bird which breeds in the mountains of Southern Europe and the Palearctic eastwards to China. It is a short-distance migrant; many birds move to lower altitudes or wet open lowlands in winter. The water pipit in breeding plumage has greyish-brown upperparts, weakly streaked with darker brown, and pale pink-buff underparts fading to whitish on the lower belly. The head is grey with a broad white supercilium ("eyebrow"), and the outer tail feathers are white. In winter, the head is grey-brown, the supercilium is duller, the upperparts are more streaked, and the underparts are white, streaked lightly with brown on the breast and flanks. There are only minor differences among the three subspecies, the sexes are almost identical, and young birds resemble adults. Wikipedia →
20–30% of wildlife watchers report a Water Pipit sighting in Mercantour National Park, based on 75 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Mercantour National Park
Tree Pipit
Anthus trivialis
Meadow Pipit
Anthus pratensis
Tawny Pipit
Anthus campestris
White Wagtail
Motacilla alba
Grey Wagtail
Motacilla cinerea
Western Yellow Wagtail
Motacilla flava
Chaffinch
Fringilla coelebs
Black Redstart
Phoenicurus ochruros
Carrion Crow
Corvus corone
Great Tit
Parus major
Eurasian Blackbird
Turdus merula
European Robin
Erithacus rubecula
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Picos de Europa National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 2 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | Tatra National Park | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | |
| 6 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 7 | Hemis National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 9 | Kiskunság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 10 | Hortobágy National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 11 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 12 | Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park | 🇲🇳 Mongolia | |
| 13 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 14 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 15 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 16 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 17 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 18 | Doñana National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 19 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 20 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 21 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal |
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Water Pipit in Mercantour National Park?
About 23% of wildlife watchers report a Water Pipit sighting in Mercantour National Park, based on 75 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Water Pipit in Mercantour National Park?
July has the highest sighting rate for Water Pipit in Mercantour National Park in our monthly data.