The Meadow pipit (Anthus pratensis) is a small passerine bird that breeds across much of the Palearctic. It has a brown and buff plumage with streaking, a brown tail with white edges, a thin bill, and pale pinkish-yellow legs. Breeding populations in Ireland and western Scotland are slightly darker.
Meadow pipits breed from southeastern Greenland and Iceland to central France and Romania, with an isolated population in the Caucasus Mountains. They are migratory, wintering in southern Europe, North Africa, and southwestern Asia, though some reside year-round in western Europe. They prefer open habitats, including low-intensity agriculture, pasture, bogs, and moorland, and in winter can be found in salt marshes and open woodlands.
