Anthus rubescens
Silhouette: Susan Murphy (original photograph), T. Michael Keesey (vectorization) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The American pipit (Anthus rubescens), formerly known as the buff-bellied pipit, is a small songbird native to North America. It was first described by Marmaduke Tunstall in his 1771 Ornithologia Britannica. It was formerly classified as a form of the water pipit. The former subspecies, Siberian pipit, is now considered a distinct species.
Like most other pipits, the American pipit is an undistinguished-looking species which usually can be seen to run around on the ground. It has lightly streaked grey-brown upperparts and is diffusely streaked below on the buff breast and flanks. The belly is whitish, the bill and legs are dark. The related Siberian pipit is darker above and has bolder black streaking on its whiter underparts; its legs have a reddish hue. The call is a squeaky sip.
Measurements: Length: 16 cm Weight: 22 g Wingspan: 24 cm The scientific name is from Latin. Anthus is the name for a small bird of grasslands, and the specific rubescens means "reddish", from ruber, "ruddy". Three subspecies are currently recognized: Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | León | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | San Luis Potosí | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 3 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 8 | Las Vegas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an American Pipit sighting in San Francisco on a given day, based on 4,336 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 133rd most-seen of the 375 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October to February
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an American Pipit in San Francisco on a given day, against under 5% in March to September, the lowest months. Those are among San Francisco's wettest months, with about 75 mm of rain a month against almost none in July.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most American Pipit sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
9th of 32
Of the 32 cities where we can rate American Pipit sightings, San Francisco ranks 9th at under 5%. The best odds are in León (México, about 10%), San Luis Potosí (México, about 10%) and Sacramento (United States, about 10%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the American Pipit that you can see in San Francisco (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are American Crow (about 80%), House Finch (about 70%) and Black Phoebe (about 70%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the American Pipit is recorded against all the birds logged in San Francisco (4,336 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
