Water Pipit

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Habitat and behaviour

Habitat: Watercress beds, marshes (winter).
Diet: Aquatic insects.
Best time to spot: Pinkish breast in spring.

When to look

A winter visitor, typically in the UK from October through to April. Numbers peak in January. See the January birding guide for what else is about. More on the season in Bird migration in Britain.

Taller bars mean more birds about. Grey means it is usually absent.

How rare is it?

The Water Pipit sits in our Rare tier for the UK: scarce or very local, so most birders need a planned trip. It is not on the Red or Amber lists in Birds of Conservation Concern 5.

Recent UK sightings

Similar birds

• Red-throated PipitRare · Marshes (rare passage)
• Olive-backed PipitRare · Coastal scrub (autumn vagrant)
• Richard's PipitRare · Coastal (autumn vagrant)
• Tawny PipitRare · Open ground (rare vagrant)
• Blyth's PipitEpic · Coastal scrub (very rare)
• Buff-bellied PipitEpic · Coastal grass (vagrant)

Kit that helps

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