INDIAN PIPIT.
- Anthus rufulus Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. Nat. (1818), 26, 494; Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1885), 10, 574; Hume, Oates ed. Nests & Eggs Ind. Bds. (1890), 2, 213; Whitehead, Ibis (1899), 238; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 102.
- Corydalla lugubris Tweeddale, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1877), 547.
Tam-ba-yuc-yuc, Ticao, used for Motacilla melanope also; a-la-lac-sing, Siquijor.
Bantayan (McGregor); Batan (McGregor); Bohol (Everett, Steere Exp., McGregor); Calamianes (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Calayan (McGregor); Camiguin N. (McGregor); Cebu (Everett, Bourns & Worcester); Fuga (McGregor); Guimaras (Meyer, Murray, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester); Leyte (Steere Exp.); Lubang (McGregor); Luzon (Cuming, Everett, Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead, McGregor, Bartsch); Maestre de Campo (McGregor & Worcester); Masbate (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Mindanao (Everett, Bourns & Worcester, Celestino); Mindoro (Steere Exp., Schmacker, Bourns & Worcester); Negros (Steere, Everett, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Celestino); Palawan (Everett, Celestino, White); Panaon (Everett); Panay (Murray, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester); Polillo (McGregor); Romblon (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Samar (Steere Exp.); Semirara (McGregor & Worcester); Sibuyan (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Siquijor (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Celestino); Tablas (Bourns & Worcester, Celestino); Ticao (McGregor). Africa, Malay Peninsula, Burmese countries, India, Ceylon, Sumatra, Java, Borneo.
Adult in fresh plumage.—Above sandy buff, nearly uniform on rump and tail-coverts; upper back and top of head with dark brown shaft-lines producing, on the head at least, a decidedly streaked appearance; lores blackish; supercilium, from bill to nape, light buff; subocular space buff, bounded below by a line of dark brown; malar line dark brown; ear-coverts sandy buff; under parts cream-buff; sides and flanks sandy buff; an ill-defined band across chest sandy buff, the feathers with narrow, mesial, blackish streaks; wing-feathers and rectrices blackish brown, more or less widely edged and tipped with various shades of buff; two outer pairs of rectrices largely white. A female from Calayan Island measures: Wing, 80; tail, 66; culmen from base, 16; tarsus, 28; hind toe with claw, 24. A female from Lubang measures: Wing, 79; tail, 62; culmen from base, 16; tarsus, 27; hind toe with claw, 22.
As the plumage becomes worn the supercilium, subocular region, and under parts fade to white, and the pectoral band fades to light buff.
This species is said to resemble A. richardi except in being smaller; it is easily distinguished from any of the other pipits found in the Philippines by the scantily streaked chest and by the uniformly colored sides and flanks. Furthermore it is the most common species, outnumbering, in individuals, all the other species combined.
“Enormously abundant in the open fields; it is resident throughout the year and breeds. Four males average: Length, 167; wing, 80; tail, 65; culmen, 18; tarsus, 28; middle toe with claw, 23. Iris dark brown; legs and feet dirty yellow, nails darker; upper mandible dark brown to black, under mandible light brown.” (Bourns and Worcester MS.)