Water Pipit (Anthus spinoletta) - BirdLife species factsheet

Water Pipit Anthus spinoletta

Current view: Data table and detailed info

Taxonomy

Taxonomic source(s)
AERC TAC. 2003. AERC TAC Checklist of bird taxa occurring in Western Palearctic region, 15th Draft. Available at: http://www.aerc.eu/DOCS/Bird_taxa_of_the_WP15.xls.
Cramp, S. and Simmons, K.E.L. (eds). 1977-1994. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The birds of the western Palearctic. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
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.

IUCN Red List criteria met and history

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2018	Least Concern
2016	Least Concern
2012	Least Concern
2009	Least Concern
2008	Least Concern
2004	Least Concern
2000	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Species attributes

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

Range

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	17,500,000 km²	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	31,400,000 km²	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

Population

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	10000000-29999999 mature individuals	poor	estimated	2012
Population trend	stable	-	suspected	-
Generation length	3.7 years	-	-	-

Population justification: In Europe, the breeding population is estimated to number 1,620,000-3,160,000 pairs, which equates to 3,230,000-6,320,000 mature individuals (BirdLife International 2015). Europe forms c.25% of the global range, so a very preliminary estimate of the global population size is 12,920,000-25,280,000 mature individuals, although further validation of this estimate is needed.

Trend justification: The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats. The European population is estimated to be stable (BirdLife International 2015).

Country/territory distribution

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Afghanistan	extant	native				yes
Albania	extant	native		yes
Algeria	extant	native
Andorra	extant	native		yes
Armenia	extant	native		yes
Austria	extant	native	yes
Azerbaijan	extant	native	yes
Bahrain	extant	native			yes	yes
Belarus	extant	vagrant
Belgium	extant	native			yes
Bosnia and Herzegovina	extant	native		yes
Bulgaria	extant	native	yes
China (mainland)	extant	native
Croatia	extant	native	yes
Cyprus	extant	native			yes
Czechia	extant	native	yes
Denmark	extant	native	yes
Egypt	extant	native
Estonia	extant	native		yes
Faroe Islands (to Denmark)	extant	native	yes
Finland	extant	native		yes		yes
France	extant	native	yes			yes
Georgia	extant	native		yes
Germany	extant	native	yes			yes
Gibraltar (to UK)	extant	vagrant
Greece	extant	native	yes			yes
Hungary	extant	native			yes
India	extant	native
Iran, Islamic Republic of	extant	native	yes
Iraq	extant	native			yes
Ireland	extant	native		yes
Israel	extant	native
Italy	extant	native	yes			yes
Jordan	extant	native			yes
Kazakhstan	extant	native		yes
Kuwait	extant	native			yes	yes
Kyrgyzstan	extant	native		yes
Latvia	extant	vagrant
Lebanon	extant	native			yes	yes
Libya	extant	native
Liechtenstein	extant	native	yes
Luxembourg	extant	native			yes
Malta	extant	native			yes
Mongolia	extant	native		yes
Montenegro	extant	native		yes
Morocco	extant	native
Nepal	extant	native			yes	yes
Netherlands	extant	native			yes
North Macedonia	extant	native	yes
Norway	extant	native		yes
Oman	extant	native			yes
Pakistan	extant	native
Poland	extant	native	yes
Portugal	extant	native	yes
Qatar	extant	native			yes
Romania	extant	native	yes
Russia	extant	native		yes
Russia (Asian)	extant	native		yes
Russia (Central Asian)	extant	native		yes
Russia (European)	extant	native		yes
Saudi Arabia	extant	native			yes
Serbia	extant	native		yes
Slovakia	extant	native	yes
Slovenia	extant	native	yes
South Korea	extant	native
Spain	extant	native	yes
Sweden	extant	native	yes
Switzerland	extant	native	yes
Syria	extant	native			yes	yes
Taiwan, China	extant	native
Tajikistan	extant	native		yes
Tunisia	extant	native
Türkiye	extant	native	yes
Turkmenistan	extant	native			yes
Ukraine	extant	native		yes
United Arab Emirates	extant	native			yes	yes
United Kingdom	extant	native			yes
Uzbekistan	extant	native		yes

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Iran, Islamic Republic of	Arasbaran Protected Area
Kazakhstan	Aksu-Dzhabagly State Nature Reserve
Kazakhstan	Almaty State Nature Reserve
Kazakhstan	Assy Plateau
Kazakhstan	Big Almaty Gorge
Kyrgyzstan	Eastern Alai
Kyrgyzstan	Gorge Tash-Rabat
Kyrgyzstan	Lake Chatyr-Kul
Kyrgyzstan	Western Alai, Kok-Suu river
Russia (Asian)	Artysh ridge
Russia (Asian)	Northern slope of Khamar-Daban mountains
Russia (Asian)	Tunkin valley
Russia (Central Asian)	Dzhulukul' depression
Russia (Central Asian)	Kurkure mountain
Russia (Central Asian)	Kuznetsky Alatau Zapovednik
Tajikistan	Aktash massif
Tajikistan	Bulunkul and Yashilkul lakes and mountains
Tajikistan	Dashtidjum
Tajikistan	Drumkul Lake
Tajikistan	Dzhavshangoz
Tajikistan	Ishkashim
Tajikistan	Iskanderkul lake and mountains
Tajikistan	Kattasay and Daganasay Reservoirs
Tajikistan	Kondara Gorge
Tajikistan	Kulikalon Lakes
Uzbekistan	Bashkyzylsay Unit of the Chatkal Mountains Biosphere Reserve
Uzbekistan	Central section of the Kurama Mountain Range
Uzbekistan	Gissar State Nature Reserve
Uzbekistan	Tereklisay section of the Chatkal Mountains Biosphere Reserve

Habitats & altitude

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	Artificial/Aquatic - Irrigated Land (includes irrigation channels)	suitable	non-breeding
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	Artificial/Aquatic - Wastewater Treatment Areas	suitable	non-breeding
Grassland	Temperate	major	breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Coastal Brackish/Saline Lagoons/Marine Lakes	suitable	non-breeding
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)		major	breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands	suitable	non-breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)	suitable	non-breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls)	suitable	non-breeding
Altitude	615 - 3200 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Water Pipit Anthus spinoletta. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/water-pipit-anthus-spinoletta 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.