Anthus rufulus
Silhouette: bird_biochemist · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
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 |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report an Oriental Pipit sighting in Udawalawe National Park on a given day, based on 257 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 27th most-seen of the 166 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October and December
In those months about 70% of wildlife watchers report an Oriental Pipit in Udawalawe National Park on a given day, against about 30% in June, the lowest month. Those are among Udawalawe National Park's wettest months, with about 230 mm of rain a month against 45 mm in June.
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.
2nd of 33
Of the 33 parks where we can rate Oriental Pipit sightings, Udawalawe National Park ranks 2nd at about 50%. The best odds are in Horton Plains National Park (Sri Lanka, about 70%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Oriental Pipit is recorded against all the birds logged in Udawalawe National Park (257 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.
