The Rock Pipit is a smudgy, darker version of a Meadow Pipit and is found mainly on the coast, hence its name. It is the only British songbird that nests by the sea. It is a tough, hardy bird, untroubled by wind or rain.
The size of a Starling, the Rock Pipit has weakly streaked greyish-brown upperparts and buff underparts marked with poorly defined brown streaks. They have a pale eye-ring and dark legs. Their song is a sequence of about twenty tinkling "cheepa" notes, followed by a rising series of thin "gee" calls, and finishing with a short trill flourish.
Rock Pipits mainly feed on small invertebrates, such as beetles, and small molluscs, as well as some small fish and seeds. They hop, walk, or run as they forage, picking food from between rocks or venturing into shallow water after the retreating waves.
The breeding season begins in mid-March. The male Rock Pipit puts on a song display in which he flies high above the ground, then circles or descends to the ground with a fluttering 'parachute' flight - singing as he goes. Once paired, mum builds a cup-shaped nest under coastal vegetation or in a cliff crevice. It is made from seaweed and dead grass, and lined with finer fibres or hair. She lays 4-6 eggs in April which hatch after 2 weeks. Both parents look after the youngsters until they can fly 16 days later. There will sometimes be two broods before breeding ends in August, when mum and dad do a complete moult.
The overall British population of Rock Pipits is stable, with around 35,000 pairs. Further birds arrive here from Norway to spend winter. Their major threat is coastal pollution, like oil and plastic waste. The average lifespan of a Rock Pipit is 9 years, a long time for a small bird.
Their Latin name is 'anthus petrosus' from the Latin 'anthus' for a small grassland bird and 'petrosus' meaning 'rocky', from 'petrus' for 'rock'. Rocky by habitat and as hard as nails.