European rock pipit

European rock pipit.
The European rock pipit (Anthus petrosus) is a small species of songbird that breeds in western Europe on rocky coasts. It has streaked greyish-brown upperparts and buff underparts, and is similar in appearance to other European pipits. There are three subspecies, of which only the Fennoscandian form is migratory, wintering in shoreline habitats further south in Europe and northwest Africa. The rock pipit is territorial at least in the breeding season, and remains so year-round where it is resident. Males will sometimes enter an adjacent territory to assist the resident in repelling an intruder, behaviour only otherwise known from an African fiddler crab. Rock pipits construct a cup nest under coastal vegetation or in cliff crevices and lay four to six speckled pale grey eggs which hatch in about two weeks. The pipits feed mainly on small invertebrates picked off the rocks or from shallow water, and occasionally catch insects in flight. The bird's population is large and stable.