Songbird Saturday: Tree Pipit

The epitome of the small streaky brown bird they might be, but the Tree Pipit has a beautiful loud and rich song that does set it apart

These summer visitors from sub-Saharan Africa start making landfall in the UK from as early as mid-March, though most Tree Pipits will arrive mid-April to early May. 

Although they can be found across the UK during breeding season, these little brown streaky birds have undergone huge declines in certain areas, particularly in southern and central England, and are now quite scarce. We are lucky that the red-listed pipit is found in Wales in higher densities – but they are still quite an unusual sight.

It doesn’t help that Tree Pipits are specialists requiring open-edge habitats. While they can be found in grassland and heathland habitats as well as woodland, they are heavily dependent on open ground for nesting and scattered trees for singing perches.

The latter is instrumental to their successfully breeding, as they tend to perform their distinctive, musical song to find a partner and secure territory while in flight. Typically, the Tree Pipit sings while performing a display flight: the bird rises from a treetop or perch, then parachutes gently back down with fluttering wings while delivering a clear, sweet series of notes that speed up toward the end, often described as a ‘rippling’ or ‘descending’ trill. 

The song is loud and full, featuring a ‘Chaffinch-like’ repeated, rhythmic opening of a series of ‘che-che-che’ notes, before transitioning into long, ricocheting, fluty whistles (seeo-seeo-seeoseeo) that notably slow down and drop in pitch as the bird parachutes back to a perch.

This aerial parachuting song is the one the Tree Pipit is best known for, but the bird also has a series of different calls, from its high-pitched buzzy flight call or its sharp, rapid ‘tik, tik, tik’ alarm calls.

It is impossible to discuss Tree Pipit identification without talking about the much more common Meadow Pipit – which, unlike its specialist sibling, is found in a variety of habitats – as visually the two species are incredibly difficult to tell apart – especially if seen out of context.

Both birds are sparrow-sized, horizontal with mobile tails and wagtail-like movements. They are brown and streaky with pinky-orange legs and pale underparts, and further streaking on their buff-coloured chests. However, if you look very closely there are notable differences – the Tree Pipit has a slightly shorter hind claw, finer streaking on their flanks and a heavier set bill. These differences are notoriously tricky to discern unless you have two individuals from each species side by side staying stock still – and even then it takes practice.

Their songs, however, are very different. If you listen to the Meadow Pipit song here on the BTO’s website, you will hear a simpler, weaker, series of ‘ist-ist-ist’ notes that speed up as they rise and trill as they drop. 

But while the Tree Pipit is generally heard from the air, the Meadow Pipit almost always sings from the ground. The most common songbird in upland areas, it’s found in heathland, grassland, farmland, wetland and intertidal habitats, making it the pipit you’re most likely to see.

However, if you’re in sparsely covered woodland and you hear a bird initiating and finishing its song in a tree, you might have been lucky enough to spot a Tree Pipit, a special bird indeed.

Tree Pipit song at a glance:

WHEN: Arriving from mid-March, but with peak migration between mid April to early May, Tree Pipits start singing immediately and continue through breeding season. They return south from August/September.

WHERE: Particularly woodland, but also grassland and heathland where there are some scattered trees and open ground present. forest edges, clearings in conifer plantations, open oak woodlands, and lowland heathlands

WHAT: The male sings a rich, continuous melody that starts with repeated, rhythmic che-che-che notes (similar to a Chaffinch) and transitions into long, ricocheting, fluty whistles (seeo-seeo-seeoseeo) that notably slow down and drop in pitch as the bird parachutes back to a perch