yellow-breasted pipit

The yellow-breasted pipit has a bright yellow breast during breeding plumage, which fades to a buffy breast with a yellowish belly during non-breeding season. It has a scaled, brown back with white outer tail feathers. Unlike most other pipits, it has a grey lower mandible during non-breeding.{{Cite web |title=Yellow-breasted Pipit - eBird |url=https://ebird.org/ebird/species/yebpip2?siteLanguage=en_ZA |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=ebird.org |language=en}}

The taxonomy of the yellow-breasted pipit is currently a rather gray-area. Some authorities classify it as Anthus chloris, placing it with the other pipits. Other authorities place it in its own genus (Hemimacronyx). It has been proposed through phylogenetic work that it should actually be placed in the genus Macronyx, with the longclaws.{{Cite journal |last1=Pietersen |first1=Darren W. |last2=McKechnie |first2=Andrew E. |last3=Jansen |first3=Raymond |last4=Little |first4=Ian T. |last5=Bastos |first5=Armanda D.S. |date=2018-12-05 |title=Multi-locus phylogeny of African pipits and longclaws (Aves: Motacillidae) highlights taxonomic inconsistencies |url=https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12683 |journal=Ibis |volume=161 |issue=4 |pages=781–792 |doi=10.1111/ibi.12683 |issn=0019-1019|hdl=2263/72271 |hdl-access=free |url-access=subscription }} They also propose that the Sharpe's Longclaw (Macronyx sharpei) is its sister species.

File:Yellow-breasted Pipit iNaturalist.jpg

It is endemic to southern Africa, occurring along the eastern escarpment of South Africa with marginal crossover into Lesotho. It occurs from the town of Dullstroom (north) to Catchart (south).{{Cite journal |last1=Pietersen |first1=Darren W. |last2=Little |first2=Ian T. |last3=Jansen |first3=Raymond |last4=McKechnie |first4=Andrew E. |date=2017-09-10 |title=Predicting the distribution of the Vulnerable Yellow-breasted Pipit (Anthus chloris) using Species Distribution Modelling |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/01584197.2017.1372689 |journal=Emu - Austral Ornithology |volume=118 |issue=2 |pages=166–172 |doi=10.1080/01584197.2017.1372689 |issn=0158-4197|url-access=subscription }}

Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, arable land, and pastureland.

It is threatened by habitat loss, and there is evidence that its range has contracted over recent decades, especially in the Eastern Cape.

The yellow-breasted pipit breeds in the summer months (mostly between November and February) in sub-montane grasslands above 1400 m. They prefer grasslands where fires occur every 2–3 years with moderate levels of grazing. During the non-breeding season, some descend to lower elevations.

Yellow-breasted pipits are currently considered vulnerable due to the continuous decline of their range, their decreasing population size and fragmented populations. Apart from habitat loss due to agriculture, overgrazing and incompatible fire regimes, the increasing of open-cast coal mines has also restricted the distribution of this species. Various other species of great conservation concern co-inhabit the grasslands that this pipit occurs in, including Botha's and Rudd's Lark.

{{Reflist}}

• [http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/resources/grzimek_birds/Motacillidae/Anthus_chloris.jpg/view.html Image at ADW]

• Yellow-breasted pipit - [http://sabap2.adu.org.za/docs/sabap1/725.pdf Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds].

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yellow-breasted pipit

Category:Southern Afromontane endemic bird species

yellow-breasted pipit

Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot

Category:Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN

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