Olive-backed Pipit
Anthus hodgsoni
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Continuing in the north of Thailand in the beautiful Chiang Mai district we are in search of a pipit - the Olive-backed Pipit. The pipits are a cosmopolitan genus, Anthus, of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. Along with the wagtails and longclaws, the pipits make up the family Motacillidae. The genus is widespread, occurring across most of the world, except the driest deserts, rainforest and the mainland of Antarctica.
They are slender, often drab, ground-feeding insectivores of open country. Like their relatives in the family, the pipits are monogamousand territorial. Pipits are ground nesters, laying up to six speckled eggs.
Molecular studies of the pipits suggested that the genus arose in East Asia around seven million years ago (Mya), during the Miocene, and that the genus had spread to the Americas, Africa, and Europe between 5 and 6 Mya. Speciation rates were high during the Pliocene (5.3 to 2.6 Mya ), but have slowed down so during the Pleistocene. Repeated dispersal between continents seems to have been important in generating new species in Eurasia, Africa, and North America, rather than species arising by radiation once a continent was reached. In South America, however, vicariance appears to have played an important role in speciation.
The genus has more than 40 species, making it the largest genus in terms of numbers in its family. The exact species limits of the genus are still a matter of some debate, with some checklists recognising only 34 species. For example, the Australasian pipit, A. novaeseelandiae, which is currently treated as nine subspecies found in New Zealand, Australia, and New Guinea, once also included Richard's pipit and the paddyfield pipit of Asia, and the African pipit of Africa. In addition, the Australian and New Zealand populations could be split, or even that New Zealand's subspecies found on its outlying Subantarctic Islands be split from the mainland species. In part the taxonomic difficulties arise due to the extreme similarities in appearance across the genus.
The plumage of the pipits is generally drab and brown, buff, or faded white. The undersides are usually darker than the top, and a variable amount of barring and streaking is seen on the back, wings, and breast. The drab, mottled-brown colours provide some camouflage against the soil and stones on which they are generally found. A few species have slightly more colourful breeding plumages; for example, the rosy pipit has greenish edges on the wing feathers. The yellow-breasted pipit, if it is retained in this genus, is quite atypical in having bright yellow plumage on the throat, breast, and belly.
One such pipit is our focus today - the Olive-backed Pipit.
But first about where I first saw this lovely little pipit - the spectacular mountains of Northern Thailand. The Dois of northern Thailand have been very kind to me from a birding perspective. There are so many I have already talked about and so many still remaining. I have written an overview here on the Birds of the Dois and have now started to break them up into individuals like the Gray-backed Shrike, Long-tailed Shrike, Spectacled Barwing, Siberian Rubythroat, the stunning Mrs. Gould’s Sunbird and the numerous other birds I have seen here.
About 685 kilometers to the north of Bangkok lies the former seat of the ancient Lanna Kingdom and is considered one of the most scenic provinces in the country given its mountain ranges, valleys, flora and fauna. A land of misty mountains and colourful hill tribes, a playground for seasoned travellers, and a delight for adventurers. Despite its relatively small size and blissful calm, Chiang Mai truly has it all, a city that is still firmly Thai in its atmosphere and attitude. It is the second-largest changwat (province) of Thailand. Bordered by Chiang Rai to the northeast, Lampang and Lamphun to the south, Tak to the southwest, Mae Hong Son to the west and the Shan State of Myanmar to the north. Located in a verdant valley on the banks of the Ping River, Chiang Mai was founded in 1296 as the capital of the ancient Lanna Kingdom. Today it is a place where past and the present seamlessly merge with modern buildings standing side by side with venerable temples. Of all the places I have visited in Thailand, Chiang Mai with its forests and mountains and the historic city of Ayutthaya are by far my favourites.
The word Chiang itself is from North Thai, or Lanna, meaning town or city and Mai means new making Chiang Mai the New City as it was founded later than Chiang Rai, the earlier capital of King Meng Rai. The districts in the province are called amphoe, and sub-districts are called tambon. Another twist is the use of Nakhon (or Nakorn or Nakhorn), derived from the Sanskrit word Nagara, also means city, though strictly speaking it refers to a capital city such as Nakorn Sri Ayutthaya (more on Ayutthaya later). Indeed to emphasise its former status you may sometimes see Chiang Mai referred to as Nakhon Ping. Other common names of geographical features include mae (river) and doi which is north Thai for mountain - for example Doi Inthanon and Mae Ping.
The four Dois we spent our time on were Doi Inthanon, Doi Ang Khang, Doi Luang and Doi SanJu.
Doi Luang & Doi SanJu in close proximity to the Doi Pha Hom Pok National Park, it is the second highest mountain in Thailand and a part of the Dan Lao Mountain range, northwest of Chiang Mai, sharing the border with Myanmar. Doi SanJu, can be easily accessed from Fang town. The mountain forest and no traffic make it easy to view birds. The entire area is very quiet, secluded and home to rare species like Mrs. Humes Pheasant, Long–tailed Sibia, Himalayan Cutia, Black–throated Tit, Black–eared Shrike Babbler, Whiskered Yuhina, Crimson–breasted Woodpecker, Fire–tailed Sunbird to name a few.
We didn’t have the good fortune to see all the species on all the mountains, that would have been impossible, but we did rack up quite a number of species - about 95 of them. This gallery is of the tiny, unobtrusive and retiring White-gorgeted Flycatcher who keeps to the dense lower levels of foothill forests.
Mae Sa Waterfall (Nam tok Mae Sa), Doi Suthep-Pui National Park, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Pictured here is Level 3 named Pha Tak
The Mae Sa Waterfall is an impressive series of 9 or 10 small waterfalls and cascades spaced anywhere between 100m to 500m apart from each other. Mae Sa waterfall covers a large area as it tumbles down its various levels and each of the levels is named. Pictured here are levels 3 and 5 - Waterfall #3 is named Pha Tak and Waterfall #5 is named Wang Thao Promma.
Mae Sa Waterfall is located about 30 minutes away from Chiang Mai by car, in an area also called Mae Sa. While the waterfall is not visible from the road, there are lots of signs that point the way. Mae Sa is made up mostly of rainforest and set in a valley, where there are a range of adventure activities, elephant camps as well as the Mae Sa waterfall.
Read about the other birds from these beautiful mountains. These are only a few of the huge number I have spotted and recorded there.
With that said, meet this lovely little pipit from the mountains of Chiang Mai.
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Olive-backed Pipit
The Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni) is a small passerine bird of the pipit (Anthus) genus, which breeds across southern, north central and eastern Asia, as well as in the north-eastern European Russia. It is a long-distance migrant moving in winter to southern Asia and Indonesia. Sometimes it is also called Indian pipit or Hodgson's pipit, as well as tree pipit owing to its resemblance with the tree pipit. However, its back is more olive-toned and less streaked than that species, and its head pattern is different with a better-marked supercillium. The genus name Anthus is from Latin and is the name for a small bird of grasslands used first by Pliny the Elder. The specific hodgsoni commemorates English diplomat and collector Brian Houghton Hodgson.
They are greenish brown streaked with darker brown above. The supercillium, double wing bar and outer rectories are whitish. They are whitish to buff below streaked with dark brown on the breast and flanks. Both sexes are alike. They are usually seen singly or in pairs and they run about on the ground in search of food flying up into trees when disturbed. The flight jerky and undulating.
The pipits are almost always highly conservative in appearance. They are generally 16–21 cm (6.3–8.3 in) in length, although the smallest species, the short-tailed pipit, is only 11.5–12.5 cm (4.5–4.9 in). In weight, they range from 15–40 g (0.53–1.41 oz). The largest species may be the alpine pipit. Like all members of the family, they are slender, short-necked birds with long tails and long, slender legs with elongated (in some cases very elongated) hind claws. The length of the hind claw varies with the habits of the species, more arboreal species have shorter, more curved hind claws than the more terrestrial species. The bills are generally long, slender, and pointed. In both size & plumage, few differences are seen between the sexes. One unusual feature of the pipits, which they share in common with the rest of their family, but not the rest of the passerines, is that the tertials on the wing entirely cover the primary flight feathers. This is thought to be a feature to protect the primaries, which are important to flight, from the sun, which causes the feathers to fade and become brittle if not protected.
The pipits have a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring across most of the world's land surface. They are the only genus in their family to occur widely in the Americas (two species of wagtails marginally occur in Alaska, as well). Three species of pipits occur in North America, & seven species occur in South America. The remaining species are spread throughout Eurasia, Africa, & Australia, along with two species restricted to islands in the Atlantic. Some six species occur on more than one continent.
As might be expected from a genus with such a wide distribution, the pipits are found in an equally wide range of habitats. They occur in most types of open habitat, although they are absent from the very driest deserts. They are mostly associated with some kind of grassland, from sea-level to alpine tundra.
The pipits range from entirely sedentary to entirely migratory. Insular species such as the Nilgiri pipit, are entirely sedentary while other species are partly nomadic during the nonbreeding season, like the long-legged pipit of central Africa or the ochre-breasted pipit of South America. These seasonal movements are in response to conditions in the environment, and are poorly understood and unpredictable. Longer, more regular migrations between discrete breeding and wintering grounds are undertaken by several species. The tree pipit, which breeds in Europe and northern Asia, winters in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, a pattern of long-distance migration shared with other northerly species. Species may also be partly migratory, with northern populations being migratory but more temperate populations being resident (such as the meadow pipit in Europe). The distances involved do not have to be that long and migration is usually undertaken in groups and may happen both during the day and at night. Some variation happens in this as some species apparently only migrates by day.
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 & 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 Olive-backed Pipit ranges in summer from the Himalayan Pakistan and India, westward through Nepal, into China and eastwards through Korea to Japan and north through Central Asia into NE Europe. They are occasionally a rare vagrant in Western Europe. They breed up to 4500m in Eastern Nepal. In Winter they range broadly across Southern Asia, from Peninsular India, east to SE Asia and the Philippines. Their habitat preferences are open country, wintering in evergreen woodland and summers in groves and wooded biotope.
The following gallery of the Olive-backed Pipit is of the birds observed and photographed in and around Doi SanJu & Doi Ton Phueng near Chiang Mai.
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