Current view: Data table and detailed info
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.
IUCN Red List criteria met and history
Red List criteria met
Red List history
Migratory status |
not a migrant |
Forest dependency |
does not normally occur in forest |
Land-mass type |
|
Average mass |
31 g |
Population justification: The global population size was estimated by Taylor et al. (2015) as 3,300-8,900 mature individuals. The species is common in Lethoso, and has been observed at the following densities on Clarens formation sandstone cliffs: 57 breeding pairs per 107 km transect (Kopij 2013a), 17 breeding pairs in the Roma Valley (Kopij 2001), 4 pairs per 3 km transect in Morija (Kopij 2006), and 22 breeding pairs per 24 km transect around the Qeme and Masite Plateaus (Kopij 2010). 5 breeding pairs per 24 km transect were found in the lowland river valleys, while 4 breeding pairs per 25.5 km transects in the foothill river valleys (Kopij 2012). 28 breeding pairs per 110 km transect were found at the Lower Senque river drainages, while 72 pairs per 104 km transect were found at the Upper Senque drainages (Kopij 2013a, b). In afro-montane grasslands c.2,000-2,300 m above sea level, 13 pairs per 61.2 km transect were found (Kopij 2015b), while 13 pairs per 54km and 7 pairs per 120km were found in the highlands and foothills respectively (Kopij 2015a). No birds were recorded in the lowlands (Kopij 2015a) or in Alti-mountain grassland at 2,500-3,500m above sea level (Kopij 2015b), however 10 breeding pairs per 90km transect were found on farmlands (Kopij 2018).
Trend justification: The species may have undergone a population size reduction over the past 10 years based on a decline of c.34% in Area of Occupancy (based on comparisons of South African Bird Atlas Project data) and c.11% in Extent of Occurrence, although this may be in part influenced by incomplete sampling in part of its range (Taylor et al. 2015). Lee et al. (2017) instead suggest a range decline of 13% (with a core range decline of 9% since 1992). Given the uncertainty over the rate of decline, the species is cautiously suspected to be undergoing an ongoing decline in the range 10-19%, though further evidence could suggest that the rate of decline is greater than this.
Country/territory distribution
Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Yellow-tufted Pipit Anthus crenatus. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/yellow-tufted-pipit-anthus-crenatus 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.