Anthus leucophrys
Silhouette: Susan Murphy (original photograph), T. Michael Keesey (vectorization) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10%
The plain-backed pipit or plain pipit (Anthus leucophrys) is a medium-sized passerine bird which is a resident breeder in Africa south of the Sahara Desert. It is found in open habitats, especially short grassland and cultivation. It builds its cup-shaped nest on the ground and usually lays three eggs. Like other pipits, this species is insectivorous.
The plain-backed pipit is a large pipit at 17 cm, but is otherwise an undistinguished looking species, faintly streaked grey-brown above and pale below with light breast streaking. It has a strong white supercilium, and dark moustachial stripes. It has long legs and tail, and a long dark bill. Sexes are similar, but juveniles have warmer brown upperparts.
Some care must be taken to distinguish this species from wintering tawny pipits, Anthus campestris. The plain-backed pipit is sturdier and darker than the Tawny, and stands more upright. Perhaps the best distinction is the characteristic "ssissik" call, quite different from the tawny pipit's "tchilip".
Birds of The Gambia by Barlow, Wacher and Disley, ISBN 1-873403-32-1 Plain-backed pipit - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds. Wikipedia →
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Plain-backed Pipit sighting in Pilanesberg National Park on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 210th most-seen of the 233 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Plain-backed Pipit in Pilanesberg National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June to April, the lowest months. That is one of Pilanesberg National Park's driest months, with about 15 mm of rain against 130 mm in December.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Plain-backed Pipit sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
19th of 24
Of the 24 parks where we can rate Plain-backed Pipit sightings, Pilanesberg National Park ranks 19th at under 5%. The best odds are in Kidepo Valley National Park (Uganda, about 40%), Masai Mara National Reserve (Kenya, about 30%) and Lake Nakuru National Park (Kenya, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Plain-backed Pipit is recorded against all the birds logged in Pilanesberg National Park (16 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.
