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

Taxonomic note

Hemimacronyx chloris (del Hoyo and Collar 2016) was previously placed in the genus Anthus following Dowsett & Forbes-Watson (1993); Sibley & Monroe (1990, 1993).

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
-	-	A3c; C2a(i); D1

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2021	Vulnerable	A3c; C2a(i); D1
2018	Vulnerable	A3c; C2a(i); D1
2016	Vulnerable	A3c; B1ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v); D1
2012	Vulnerable	A3c;B1ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v)
2008	Vulnerable	A3c; B1a+b(i,ii,iii,iv,v); C1
2004	Vulnerable
2000	Vulnerable
1996	Vulnerable
1994	Vulnerable
1988	Threatened

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type	continent	Average mass	25 g

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	163,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	424-1210 mature individuals	medium	estimated	2016
Population trend	decreasing	medium	inferred	-
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	20-29%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	30-49%	-	-	-
Generation length	3 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	2-100	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	1-89%	-	-	-

Population justification: Barnes (2000) estimated the population to be 2,500-6,500 individuals, roughly equivalent to 1,700-4,300 mature individuals. In view of substantial range reductions since Barnes's assessment, and assuming concomitant population declines, Little (2015) used a conservative estimate of a 20% population decrease, estimating the population at 2,000-4,800 individuals. Estimates based on extensive field work to determine the summer breeding range of this species, and using species range figures and average home range sizes, have resulted in population estimates of 607-1,730 individuals, approximately equating to 424-1,210 mature individuals (Pietersen et al. 2018).

Trend justification: The species's population is inferred to be declining due to ongoing loss and degradation of its grassland habitat (Pietersen et al. 2018). Habitat loss through rangeland degradation and conversion to agriculture is ongoing (Pietersen et al. 2018). Survey work does suggest, though, that the population may be stable in some local patches (R. Colyn in litt. 2017), so past declines are tentatively suspected to be moderately rapid. The rate of decline is expected to increase in the next ten years, with climate change potentially impacting 90% of the species's range by 2050 (R. Colyn in litt. 2017).

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Lesotho	extant	native	yes
South Africa	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Lesotho	Sehlabathebe National Park
South Africa	Alexpan
South Africa	Golden Gate Highlands National Park
South Africa	Grasslands
South Africa	Maloti Drakensberg Park
South Africa	Matatiele Nature Reserve
South Africa	Steenkampsberg
South Africa	Umgeni Vlei Nature Reserve

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable Land	marginal	resident
Artificial/Terrestrial	Pastureland	suitable	non-breeding
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude	major	breeding
Savanna	Dry	suitable	non-breeding
Altitude	1400 - 2400 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Agro-industry farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Agro-industry grazing, ranching or farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Wood & pulp plantations - Scale Unknown/Unrecorded	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Whole (>90%)		Very Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Energy production & mining	Mining & quarrying	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic native species/diseases - Named species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Skewed sex ratios, Species mortality
Natural system modifications	Fire & fire suppression - Trend Unknown/Unrecorded	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Yellow-breasted Pipit Hemimacronyx chloris. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/yellow-breasted-pipit-hemimacronyx-chloris on 26/12/2024.
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 26/12/2024.