Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of various widely distributed songbirds of the genera Anthus and Tmetothylacus, characteristically having brownish upperparts and a streaked breast.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Any bird of the genus Anthus or subfamily Anthinæ, of which there are many species, of most parts of the world.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of small singing birds belonging to Anthus and allied genera, of the family Motacillidæ. They strongly resemble the true larks in habits, colors, and the great length of the hind claw. They are, therefore, often called titlarks, and pipit larks.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Any of various small passerine birds, mainly from the genus Anthus, that are often drab, ground feeding insectivores of open country.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a songbird that lives mainly on the ground in open country; has streaky brown plumage

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Imitative of its call.]

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Examples

  • These once common farmland birds, along with many others, including the meadow pipit, lesser spotted woodpecker and nutcracker, are now at their lowest levels across Europe since records began, according to a survey.

    Europe's farmland birds on decline 2011

  • More than 20 years ago, I saw a water pipit on top of a mountain in Spain's Picos de Europa.

    Birdwatch: Water pipit Stephen Moss 2010

  • A meadow-pipit tsip-tsips from rock to rock while a buzzard mounts thermals on still wings and mews down at us.

    Country diary: Barmouth 2010

  • They existed, but only as a race of the more familiar rock pipit, the sole British songbird whose breeding range is confined to the coast.

    Birdwatch: Water pipit Stephen Moss 2010

  • Something about its appearance puzzled me: too long-tailed for meadow pipit, but not elegant enough for a wagtail.

    Birdwatch: Water pipit Stephen Moss 2010

  • The water pipit is the only species of bird that travels north to spend the winter in Britain.

    Birdwatch: Water pipit Stephen Moss 2010

  • Most of the other endemics are found in the mainland coastal forest of Kenya and Tanzania, including the yellow flycatcher (Erythrocercus holochlorus), Sokoke pipit (Anthus sokokensis, EN), Clarke's weaver (Ploceus golandi, EN), and Mombasa woodpecker (Campethera mombassica).

    Biological diversity in the coastal forests of Eastern Africa 2008

  • The broad-tailed grassbird (Schoenicola platyura) and Nilgiri pipit (Anthus nilghiriensis) are high-elevation grassland species.

    South Western Ghats montane rain forests 2008

  • In the lower tussock grasslands, native bird life is restricted to a few open country species such as New Zealand falcon Falco novaeseelandiae, Australasian harrier Circus sp. and New Zealand pipit Anthus sp.

    Te Wahipounamu (South-West New Zealand World Heritage Area), New Zealand 2008

  • The Tana River cisticola (Cisticola restrictus) is endemic to the Lower Tana River, and the Malindi pipit (Anthus melindae) is endemic to the coastal grasslands of Kenya.

    Biological diversity in the coastal forests of Eastern Africa 2008

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