African Pipit
Anthus cinnamomeus Rüppell, 1840
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The African pipit (Anthus cinnamomeus) is a fairly small passerine bird belonging to the pipit genus Anthus in the family Motacillidae. It is also known as the grassveld pipit or grassland pipit. It was formerly lumped together with the Richard's, Australian, mountain and paddyfield pipits in a single species, Richard's pipit (Anthus novaeseelandiae), but is now often treated as a species in its own right.
It has some defining characteristics, such as light brown feathers on the head and back, dark brown feathers on the lower back and tail, and a white chest.
Wikipedia contributors, African pipit; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:10:23.730659+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Anthus cinnamomeus Rüppell, 1840
- Name authority
- Rüppell, 1840
- Common name
- African Pipit
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Motacillidae
- Genus
- Anthus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyMotacillidae Horsfield, 1821
- genusAnthus Bechstein, 1805
- speciesAnthus cinnamomeus Rüppell, 1840
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Anthus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Correndera PipitAnthus correndera Vieillot, 1818 | MotacillidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Yellow-breasted PipitAnthus chloris Lichtenstein, 1842 | MotacillidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Hellmayr's PipitAnthus hellmayri Hartert, 1909 | MotacillidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Short-billed PipitAnthus furcatus Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837 | MotacillidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Mountain PipitAnthus hoeschi Stresemann, 1938 | MotacillidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Red-throated PipitAnthus cervinus (Pallas, 1811) | MotacillidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Berthelot's PipitAnthus berthelotii Bolle, 1862 | MotacillidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Water PipitAnthus spinoletta (Linnaeus, 1758) | MotacillidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Nilgiri PipitAnthus nilghiriensis Sharpe, 1885 | MotacillidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Rosy PipitAnthus roseatus Blyth, 1847 | MotacillidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Paddyfield PipitAnthus rufulus Vieillot, 1818 | MotacillidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| African Rock PipitAnthus crenatus Finsch & Hartlaub, 1870 | MotacillidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=558643 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:67KCZ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.