Singaporian birders have problems with pipits

[Posted by Chuck Almdale, submitted by Lillian Johnson]

It’s not just American birders that have problems separating the common birds from the rarities. Photos, books and the discerning eye are essential.

PIPIT101: Identifying Singapore’s First Tree Pipit Anthus trivialis
Singapore Birds Project | Richard Wright | 25 Oct 2021 | 8 min read

Introduction to the article:

The birding community was presented with an identification challenge today with the arrival of a vagrant pipit species. These small, brown, streaky birds can be difficult to identify at the best of times. An unfamiliar, out of context, vagrant can be a real headache. So how to start the identification process? These notes might help.

Worldwide, there are about 40 species of pipit, mostly in the genus Anthus. Within Southeast Asia nine species are regular; in Singapore Paddyfield Pipit A. rufulus is a resident breeder, Red-throated Pipit A. cervinus is an annual non-breeding visitor in small numbers and Olive-backed Pipit A. hodgsoni is a rare vagrant with only one record at Bidadari in December 2010.