BTO Bird ID - Meadow Pipit, Tree Pipit & Skylark

A small brown streaky bird launches into the air in front of you, singing its heart out, but is it a Meadow Pipit, Tree Pipit or even a Skylark? Let us help you tell these beautiful songsters apart.

[@bennyhill5663]

After watching your great video we now know that it was Skylarks that we saw on our autumn walk yesterday on farmland in Cheshire....

[@cefnonn]

To my shame I would have called all these birds "sparrows" ; ) I love the song of the skylark - there's nothings else quite like it on a summer's day!

[@paulinephillips8305]

Your identification videos are excellent, the very best! Thank you.

[@andyallen9404]

Thank you for an excellent and clear explanation!!

[@abdelhadiabdelhadi753]

this is just great info ....absolutely stunning video too

[@vnbkp66]

So Cute, Thank you for lovely video.

[@marsha1963]

Lovely, lovely video.

[@LindaPenney]

Thank you for sharing have a blessed day

[@solitudeguard5688]

Not to mention that some people struggle identifying these from Fieldfares, Redwings, Song Thrushes and Rock Pippits.

[@MeMyself-jz9ms]

Ok let’s be honest , I’m never going to visually differentiate between a tree and meadow pipit in the field, even if they were next to one another for comparison. I can’t even tell the difference in the ID books. It’s only going to be the song that tells them apart and the fact that it’s usually a meadow pipit one sees, and the tree pipits association with trees, although that can be misleading too!

[@1stBumbleBeeMaster]

Great Video, have you any idea what looks almost exactly like the back of a male robin but when it turns round it is all grey down its front? I could not believe what I was seeing. I was just about to put some meal worms down for what I thought was the male robin which was nesting a few feet from where I was standing. But when it turned round it was grey then it just flew off after the Robin chased it away. I would really like to know if this was a native bird or escaped pet. :)

[@BTOvideo]

The only likely birds that could fit this description are Nightingale and female Black Redstart but both have distinctly rufous/reddish tails. Both are chats, like Robin, and both have grey breasts.

[@Htrac]

What about when you startle it and it flies away and it has a black and white zig zag on the tail? Is that a pipit? Or a wheatear? I keep seeing them in moorland areas. The behaviour is exactly like that of a meadow pipit but the white and black stripe on the very tip of the tail when it flies away is very noticeable.

[@BTOvideo]

The description doesn't match exactly, but Wheatear sounds like the most likely explanation. It's always hard to observe exactly where the pattern is on the tail of a Wheatear as it flies away.

[@montyzee]

Meadow pipit = 'Mipit'. Rock pipit = 'Ripit'. Water pipit = 'Wipit'. Much better!

[@HushHour_Alicia_Ma_Ri_Atu_Ma]

Could you leave space between your descriptions so it is possible to hear the calls clearly?

[@piggyman1585]

Well.spoken

[@mariac5942]

1:57

[@sulistyoendro.1355]

Apakah ini burung branjangan,yg indo komen🇮🇩

[@PeterBorenius]

I hate to say it - but your attempt to relay the Skylark song - which is the best way of identifying this bird - is awful - can you do it properly please?

[@solitudeguard5688]

Oh be quiet.