Breeding birds: 88,000 territories
Family: Wagtails And Pipits
Tree pipits have warm pale grey-brown upperparts with black streaks on the back, and two inconspicuous white wing bars. On the underparts the breast and flanks are pale yellow streaked with black, the belly and vent are white, and the tail is brown.
On the head, the crown is grey-brown streaked with black, and the face and throat are pale yellow. There is a buff supercilium, a small pale spot to the rear of the ear coverts, a narrow dark line that runs through the eye, and a pale submoustachial stripe, that contrasts with a dark brown malar stripe.
The wedge-shaped bill is dark grey with a pale pink base on the lower mandible, the eyes are dark brown with a white eye-ring, and the legs and feet are pink with a curved hind-claw.
In worn plumage, they are duller and lack the warm tones. Male and females are similar.
Juvenile tree pipits resemble the adults in fresh plumage, with darker centres to the feathers on the upperparts and pale buff fringes which give it a scaled effect.
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Tree pipits breed between late April and August. They are monogamous and produce 1 or 2 broods a season. The breed on the edges of forests, heathland, plantations, and woodlands. The female builds the nest on the ground in a depression hidden amongst vegetation. It is a cup-shaped structure made from moss, dry grass, and lined with finer plant material and hair.
Tree pipits lay 4-5 brown eggs with darker markings, which are incubated by the female alone for 12-14 days. The chicks are fed insects and caterpillars by both parents and fledge 12-14 days after hatching although will leave the nest earlier.
Tree pipits can be brood parasitised by the cuckoo.
Tree pipits eat mainly insects as well as spiders and snails. During winter, they will supplement their diet with fruit and seeds. It feeds on the ground or in trees, hunting its prey along branches.
Tree pipits can be seen across the UK between April and October. Look out for them on open heathland and near newly planted conifers.
The male tree pipit performs an elaborate song-flight. He sets off from a tree rising upwards in full song before changing his pitch and spiralling downwards.
