Yellow-breasted pipit

The yellow-breasted pipit (Anthus chloris) is a species of bird in the pipit and wagtail family Motacillidae.^[2] Some authorities recognise it as Hemimacronyx chloris.^[3]

Yellow-breasted pipit
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Motacillidae
Genus:	Anthus
Species:	A. chloris
Binomial name
Anthus chloris Lichtenstein, MHC, 1842

Description

The yellow-breasted pipit has a bright yellow breast during breeding plumage, which fades to a buffy breast with a yellowish belly during non-breeding season. It has a scaled, brown back with white outer tail feathers. Unlike most other pipits, it has a grey lower mandible during non-breeding.^[4]

Taxonomy

The taxonomy of the yellow-breasted pipit is currently a rather gray-area. Some authorities classify it as Anthus chloris, placing it with the other pipits. Other authorities place it in its own genus (Hemimacronyx). It has been proposed through phylogenetic work that it should actually be placed in the genus Macronyx, with the longclaws.^[5] They also propose that the Sharpe's Longclaw (Macronyx sharpei) is its sister species.

Distribution and habitat

Yellow-breasted pipit

It is endemic to southern Africa, occurring along the eastern escarpment of South Africa with marginal crossover into Lesotho. It occurs from the town of Dullstroom (north) to Catchart (south).^[6]

Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, arable land, and pastureland. It is threatened by habitat loss, and there is evidence that its range has contracted over recent decades, especially in the Eastern Cape.^[6]

Breeding

The yellow-breasted pipit breeds in the summer months (mostly between November and February) in sub-montane grasslands above 1400 m. They prefer grasslands where fires occur every 2–3 years with moderate levels of grazing. During the non-breeding season, some descend to lower elevations.^[6]

Conservation

Yellow-breasted pipits are currently considered vulnerable due to the continuous decline of their range, their decreasing population size and fragmented populations. Apart from habitat loss due to agriculture, overgrazing and incompatible fire regimes, the increasing of open-cast coal mines has also restricted the distribution of this species.^[6] Various other species of great conservation concern co-inhabit the grasslands that this pipit occurs in, including Botha's and Rudd's Lark.