The South Georgia pipit (''Anthus antarcticus'') is a sparrow-sized bird only found on the
South Georgia archipelago off the
Antarctic Peninsula. It is the only
songbird
A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 5000 ...
in
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...
, South Georgia's only
passerine
A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by th ...
, and one of the few non-
seabird
Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...
s of the region.
It builds nests from dried grass, usually within
tussac grass
''Poa flabellata'', commonly known as tussac grass or just tussac, is a tussock grass native to southern South America, the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and other islands in the South Atlantic. There are also two isolated records from the her ...
, and lays four eggs a year. It feeds on small insects and spiders, and beach debris.
It has been threatened by the human introduction of rats, and also by environmental damage caused by humans. It has been chosen as the poster bird of the South Georgia Heritage Trust's Habitat Restoration (Rat Eradication) project, which started eradicating rats on South Georgia in 2011. The project's baiting phase ended in early 2015, and success was confirmed in 2018.
Prion Island
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Prion Island is an island north-northeast of Luck Point, lying in the Bay of Isles, South Georgia. It was charted in 1912-13 by Robert Cushman Murphy, American naturalist aboard the brig ''Daisy'', and so named because he observed pr ...
, and on beach's on South Georgia since the eradication project took hold.
Description
The South Georgia pipit is a small and stocky pipit, long and weighing . The species has long legs and a long hindclaw and a short tail.
References
External links
BirdLife Species Factsheet
{{Taxonbar, from=Q493653
South Georgia pipit
Birds of islands of the Atlantic Ocean
Birds of subantarctic islands
Fauna of South Georgia
South Georgia pipit