The pipits are active terrestrial birds that usually spend most of their time on the ground.
They will fly in order to display during breeding, while migrating and dispersing, and also when flushed by danger.
A few species make use of trees, perching in them and flying to them when disturbed.
Low shrubs, rocks and termite nests may also be used as vantage points.
Like their relatives the wagtails, pipits engage in tail-wagging.
The way in which a pipit does this can provide clues to its identity in otherwise similar looking species.
Upland pipits, for example,  flick their tails quite quickly, as opposed to olive-backed pipits which wag their tails more gently.
In general pipits move their tails quite slowly.
The buff-bellied pipit wags its tail both up and down and from side to side.
The exact function of tail-wagging is unclear; in the related wagtails it is thought to be a signal to predators of vigilance.
The pipits are active terrestrial birds that usually spend most of their time on the ground. They will fly in order to display during breeding, while migrating and dispersing, and also when flushed by danger. A few species make use of trees, perching in them and flying to them when disturbed. Low shrubs, rocks and termite nests may also be used as vantage points. Like their relatives the wagtails, pipits engage in tail-wagging. The way in which a pipit does this can provide clues to its identity in otherwise similar looking species. Upland pipits, for example,  flick their tails quite quickly, as opposed to olive-backed pipits which wag their tails more gently. In general pipits move their tails quite slowly. The buff-bellied pipit wags its tail both up and down and from side to side. The exact function of tail-wagging is unclear; in the related wagtails it is thought to be a signal to predators of vigilance.
Pipit