• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Climate Change maps
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A., Fishpool, L.D.C., Boesman, P. and Kirwan, G.M. 2016. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2021	Near Threatened	C1+2a(ii)
2017	Near Threatened	C1
2016	Least Concern
2012	Least Concern
2009	Least Concern
2008	Least Concern
2004	Least Concern
2000	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994	Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	33,300 km2	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	307,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	2500-9999 mature individuals	poor	suspected	2015
Population trend	decreasing	-	suspected	2015-2025
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-19%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-19%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-19%	-	-	-
Generation length	2.21 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: Taylor et al. (2015) suggest that the global population of this species numbers less than 10,000 mature individuals, placed here in the range 2,500-9,999 mature individuals. Lesotho is reportedly a stronghold for this species, and it has been recorded in the highlands at densities of 50 singing males per 54 km transect (Kopij 2015a), 33 singing males per 61.2 km transect in Afro-montane grassland, and 54 singing males per 44.7km transect in Alti-mountain grassland (Kopij 2015a, 2015b). This species was not recorded in the foothills (Kopij 2015a) but it has been recorded in the Sehlabathebe National Park at densities of 30 singing males per 32 km transect (Kopij 2002).
Based on the species’s distribution, it is assumed that it functions as one subpopulation, and therefore that 100% of mature individuals are within the same subpopulation.

Trend justification: It is suspected that the species is declining overall due to habitat shifting caused by climate change, as temperatures in South Africa have been rising (van Wilgen et al. 2016). Taylor et al. (2015) suggest that the species's range may have declined by up to 40% between SABAP1 and SABAP2 (c.1991-c.2015). This would be equivalent to a decline of 19% over 10 years. However, Lee et al. (2017) suggest the range may have declined by 9% between SABAP1 and SABAP2. Therefore, the species is tentatively suspected to have declined in the range of 1-19% over 10 years, and based on the threat of habitat shifting from climate change, these rates are suspected to continue into the future.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Angola	extant	native			yes	yes
Botswana	extant	native				yes
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the	extant	native			yes	yes
Lesotho	extant	native		yes
Namibia	extant	native				yes
South Africa	extant	native		yes
Zambia	extant	native			yes	yes
Zimbabwe	extant	native				yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Lesotho	Liqobong
Lesotho	Mafika - Lisiu
Lesotho	Sehlabathebe National Park
Lesotho	Sehonghong and Matebeng
Lesotho	Upper Quthing Valley
Lesotho	Upper Senqu River
South Africa	Golden Gate Highlands National Park
South Africa	Maloti Drakensberg Park
South Africa	Matatiele Nature Reserve

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude	major	resident
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude	major	breeding
Altitude	2000 - 3000 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Mountain Pipit Anthus hoeschi. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/mountain-pipit-anthus-hoeschi on 22/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 22/11/2024.