Anthus rufulus
Silhouette: bird_biochemist · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The paddyfield pipit or Oriental pipit (Anthus rufulus) is a small passerine bird in the pipit and wagtail family. It is a resident (non-migratory) breeder in open scrub, grassland and cultivation in southern Asia east to the Philippines. Although among the few breeding pipits in the Asian region, identification becomes difficult in winter when several other species migrate into the region. The taxonomy of the species is complex and has undergone considerable changes.
This is a large pipit at 15 cm, but is otherwise an undistinguished looking bird, mainly streaked grey-brown above and pale below with breast streaking. It is long legged with a long tail and a long dark bill. Sexes are similar. Summer and winter plumages are similar. Young birds are more richly coloured below than adults and have the pale edges to the feathers of the upper parts more conspicuous with more prominent spotting on the breast. The population waitei from north-western India and Pakistan is pale while the population malayensis from the Western Ghats is larger, darker and more heavily streaked with the nominate rufulus intermediate.
In winter some care must be taken to distinguish this from... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vasai-Virar | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Asansol | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Indore | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Kathmandu | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 5 | Kalyan-Dombivli | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Ludhiana | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Berhampore | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Ranchi | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Raipur | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Nashik | 🇮🇳 India |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report an Oriental Pipit sighting in Khao Yai National Park on a given day, based on 426 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 66th most-seen of the 278 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report an Oriental Pipit in Khao Yai National Park on a given day, against about 10% in September and November–December, the lowest months. That is one of Khao Yai National Park's driest months, with about 55 mm of rain against 330 mm in September.
Between 3 and 6 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Oriental Pipit sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
12th of 33
Of the 33 parks where we can rate Oriental Pipit sightings, Khao Yai National Park ranks 12th at about 20%. The best odds are in Horton Plains National Park (Sri Lanka, about 70%), Udawalawe National Park (Sri Lanka, about 50%) and Yala National Park (Sri Lanka, about 50%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Oriental Pipit is recorded against all the birds logged in Khao Yai National Park (426 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
