American Pipit
Arizona hosts a small but distinct group of pipits, all in the genus Anthus. The most widespread is the American Pipit (Anthus rubescens), a common migrant and winter visitor across the state, often found in agricultural fields, grassy wetlands, and high-elevation meadows. During migration, flocks can be seen walking and feeding on the ground, their tails constantly bobbing. The Sprague’s Pipit (Anthus spragueii) is much rarer, appearing as a scarce winter visitor or migrant in open grasslands, usually in the southeastern part of the state. Exceptionally, the Red-throated Pipit (Anthus cervinus), a Eurasian species, has been recorded in Arizona as a rare vagrant, most often detected by its distinctive call among flocks of American Pipits.
Four species of longspurs occasionally occur in Arizona, all of them birds of the open grasslands and tundra. The most regularly seen is the Chestnut-collared Longspur (Calcarius ornatus), a breeder of the northern prairies that winters in short-grass habitats of southeastern Arizona in small to moderate flocks. Less common but still regular in winter is the Thick-billed (McCown’s) Longspur (Rhynchophanes mccownii), another prairie species that shows up sporadically in grassy valleys and agricultural fields. Rare winter visitors include the Lapland Longspur (Calcarius lapponicus), which breeds in the Arctic and occasionally joins mixed flocks of sparrows and pipits in Arizona, and the Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis), which is exceptional but has been recorded. All four species are ground-dwelling, seed-eating birds adapted to open, treeless expanses, with plumages in winter that make them challenging to locate among Arizona’s grasslands.