15 Species of Pipit and Wagtail Found in India

The wagtail along with the pipits are passerine birds belong to family Motacillidae, spread across Eurasia to Asia, Africa to Australia.
These passerine birds are medium in size with long tails, ground-feeding birds and partially migratory. Here is the list of Pipit and Wagtail Species Found in India.

Forest Wagtail (Dendronanthus indicus)

The forest wagtail with distinctive plumage and habit of wagging its tail sideways, wintering across India and Asia. Forest wagtail with a long tail, usually found in open jungle areas and winter only in southwestern India.

White-browed Wagtail (Motacilla maderaspatensis)

White-browed wagtail is the most common species of wagtail birds found in India, also a largest member of the wagtail family and endemic to the Indian subcontinent.
The large pied wagtails are native to South Asia, always seen in pairs near open water and also known for singing ability.

Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)

The grey wagtail species looks very much similar to the yellow wagtail but the underside are yellow in color and always seen around lakes, river and watery habitats. The bird feed on a variety of aquatic flies and invertebrates, nest near fast running water or rivers.

Western-yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava)

The western yellow wagtail is a olive and yellow plumage bird, breeds in India, Africa and south Asia. Western yellow wagtail and Eastern yellow wagtail migrate to south Asia, inhabits wet meadows, places near water and appear in variety of colours and patterns.

Citrine Wagtail (Motacilla citreola)

The citrine wagtail is a mixture of white, black, grey and yellowish colouration, migrates in winter to South Asia.
This species also look generally like a western yellow wagtail and also found around wet meadows, near water like other species of wagtail.

White Wagtail (Motacilla alba)

The white wagtail is another beautiful species of wagtail bird also known as Indian pied wagtail, found in India, Bangladesh and in the Middle East during the winters.
There are subspecies and separate species due to plumage differences and distribution like Amur wagtail, Masked wagtail and water wagtail.

Pipits Birds of India – 11 Species of Pipits

The wagtails and pipits from family Motacillidae, Are predominantly found in Europe, Africa and Asia. There are around 15 species of pipits found in India.
Here is the list of few along with Upland pipit and Rosy pipit birds found in India.

Richard’s Pipit

The large species of pipit is more commonly found in open lowlands in the Indian subcontinent and parts of Central Asia. Richard’s pipit is a bird of open country, mainly feeds on the seeds on the ground and insectivorous.

Paddyfield Pipit

The Paddyfield Pipit or Oriental Pipit is among the few breeding pipit birds of India, found in open habitats, grassland and cultivation area.
Oriental Pipit species is a large pipit that breeds throughout the year and feeds on small insects, beetles and worms.

Blyth’s Pipit

Blyth’s pipit is a long distance migrant bird, breeds in Tibet and India as well as Mongolia. This is a large species of pipit bird very similar to Richard’s pipit but smaller in size as well as distinguish by resident area.

Tawny Pipit

The tawny pipit bird is very similar to Richard’s pipit but is a migrant to Africa and the Indian Subcontinent during winter. This is a large pipit species, found around the semi-deserts area of Rajasthan and Gujarat.

Nilgiri Pipit

The Nilgiri pipit is endemic to southern India hills and high altitude mountains, non-migratory bird of India. The species occur in the Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve and peaks of the Nilgiris and the Anamalais.

Long-billed Pipit

The long-billed pipit is also a similar looking bird to other pipits of India, occurs along the Western Ghats and northwestern India. This is a medium to large size pipit bird, found along the foothills of the Himalaya to Nepal.

Olive-backed Pipit

Olive-backed pipit also called as Indian pipit, Is found in summer from Himalayas of India through Nepal to central Asia. The small passerine bird is resemblance to tree pipit and slightly smaller by meadow pipit.

Tree Pipit

The tree pipit found mostly in open low-growing scrub, nest on the ground and also resembles meadow pipit. Tree pipit migrates to India in winter and breeds across most of Europe.

Water Pipit

The water pipit with grey head is closely related to meadow pipit and always found along the water in high meadows. Water pipits found in northwest India and feeds mainly on crickets and grasshoppers.