Anthus longicaudatus (Long-tailed pipit) 

Langstertkoester [Afrikaans]; Pipit à longue queue [French]

Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa (animals) > Bilateria > Deuterostomia > Chordata > Craniata > Vertebrata (vertebrates)  > Gnathostomata (jawed vertebrates) > Teleostomi (teleost fish) > Osteichthyes (bony fish) > Class: Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fish) > Stegocephalia (terrestrial vertebrates) > Tetrapoda (four-legged vertebrates) > Reptiliomorpha > Amniota > Reptilia (reptiles) > Romeriida > Diapsida > Archosauromorpha > Archosauria > Dinosauria (dinosaurs) > Saurischia > Theropoda (bipedal predatory dinosaurs) > Coelurosauria > Maniraptora > Aves (birds) > Order: Passeriformes > Family: Motacillidae > Genus: Anthus

Long-tailed pipit, Hope Christiana, South Africa. [photo Adam Riley ©, Rockjumper Tours]

Distribution and habitat

Very little is known about this species as it has only recently been described, but it is thought to breed in north-western Zambia and adjacent Angola and southern DRC, heading south in the non-breeding season to the area around Kimberley in the Northern Cape, where it was first described. It generally prefers short grassland, either natural or man-made, such as in urban parks and ploughed fields.

Movements and migrations

It is likely to be an intra-African breeding migrant to South Africa, mainly staying from May-August, with peak numbers in later July and early August.

Food 

Diet unknown, however it has been observed foraging on the ground, with its body in a horizontal stance.

References

• Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ and Ryan PG 2005. Roberts - Birds of southern Africa, VIIth ed. The Trustees of the John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, Cape Town.