Euroasian Rock Pipit

Anthus petrosus

Order: Passeriformes
Family: Motacillidae
Presence in the Strait: Vagrant
Protection in Spain: Special protection (List)
In Spanish: Bisbita costero

Photograph: Stanley Davis, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length: 17 cm
Weight: 24 g

Presence in the Strait

Accidental. Three records (2 birds) at the Marismas del Palmones: one bird ringed on 2.01.86 and controlled the following winter on 15.12.86; and another one ringed on 22.11.97.

Identification

Similar to a Water Pipit but with darker tones, less well-marked supercilium, more densely streaked breast, grey outer tail feathers and dark legs. Breeds in N Europe, commonly winters in N Iberian Peninsula.

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

78 %

Peak in January. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 3.6 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

First open record: 28 December 2019
Latest record: 23 January 2023

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Not included
Spanish Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: NE · Not evaluated · breeding
Global Red List (IUCN): LC · Least concern

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Same genus in the Strait

Water Pipit17–17 cm · Seasonal · overlapping size
Tawny Pipit16.5–16.5 cm · Seasonal
Tree Pipit15–15 cm · Migrant
Meadow Pipit14.5–14.5 cm · Seasonal
Richard´s Pipit18–18 cm · Occasional

Species of the same genus that also occur here, ordered by how close they are in size. Being relatives does not mean they are confused in the field, but that is where the doubts start: compare size and season.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Motacillidae
GBIF taxon key: 2490275

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: Stanley Davis, CC BY, vía iNaturalist
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

Euroasian Rock Pipit

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Gallery