A small pipit, deliberately nondescript on the ground: grey above and whitish below, with some streaking on the breast. Like all members of the genus it is slender, cryptically plumaged and has a long tail that it wags compulsively in the manner of a wagtail.
Size
13 cm – 14 cm
Life expectancy
3 years
Diet
Insectivore
Feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
In pairs
Usually lives in pairs, sometimes for life.
Sighting difficulty
Easy
Estimated population
30,000-150,000 breeding pairs in the EU-27, over a breeding area of 12,800 km²
AI-generated images: illustrations, not photographs.
Fun facts
It is endemic to the Canaries and Madeira: it lives nowhere else in the world.
Its Spanish name refers to its habit of moving along tracks and paths, where it is very easy to see despite its unobtrusive plumage.
It was described in 1862 by the German naturalist Carl Bolle, who dedicated it to Sabin Berthelot, the French naturalist settled on Tenerife and co-author of the Histoire Naturelle des Îles Canaries.
Life cycle and biology
Skeleton type
Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat and environment
Open country, from sea level to over 2,000 m, in every habitat except dense woodland and wetlands. In the eastern Canaries it occupies semi-desert areas of volcanic rock with sparse vegetation and other open ground such as tracks and paths; in the western islands, mountainous areas and rocky slopes. On Madeira it is found mainly in the high sierras, and also on cliffs and in fields near the sea
Birth weight
Altricial: born blind, naked or with sparse down and entirely dependent
Size at birth
Altricial: born blind, naked or with sparse down and entirely dependent
Sexual maturity
1 year
Gestation / incubation
13-14 days of incubation
Litter / clutch size
3-5 eggs, in a nest placed on the ground
Sources consulted: IUCN Red List 2016 (e.T22718508A88185452); Informe Art. 12 de la Directiva Aves (Agencia Europea de Medio Ambiente); European Red List of Birds 2015; Palomino y Carrascal 2012; Bolle 1862, Journal für Ornithologie 10; Bernis et al. (nombres castellanos, Ardeola)
Where to find it
Best time: All year round: it is resident in both archipelagos
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The pins mark the parks where its presence is documented.
Where to see it
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Berthelot's Pipit — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Shares a park
Shares a park
Shares a park
Shares a park
Same taxonomic family
Same taxonomic family
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about berthelot's pipit.
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