Tree Pipit

Listen to example recordings of the main vocalisations of Tree Pipit, provided by xeno-canto contributors.

This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules.

UK Birds of Conservation Concern	Red listed
Species of European Conservation Concern	Least Concern
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (global)	Least Concern
Schedule 1 license required (to disturb)	No
Birds Directive Annex 1	No
Listed on the Annexes of	Bern(III), NERC (41)

Tree Pipits occur in greatest abundance in Wales, northern England and Scotland, and thus the marked CBC decline between the first two atlas periods may reflect the range contraction that occurred then in central and southeastern England (Gibbons et al. 1993). BBS data for the species have shown a further severe decrease in England since 1995 and moderate decrease in Wales, although these losses has been offset by moderate increases in Scotland. Recent atlas data show further losses of range, especially in eastern England (Balmer et al. 2013). There has been a decline across Europe since 1980 (PECBMS: PECBMS 2020a>). The species was moved from the green to the amber list of UK Birds of Conservation Concern in 2002, and in 2009 to red, on the strength of its UK population decline (Eaton et al. 2009). It is among a suite of species that winter in the humid zone of West Africa and correspondingly are showing the strongest population declines among our migrant species (Ockendon et al. 2012, 2014). The number of fledglings per breeding attempt increased in the 1970s and 1980s but have since fallen again. Laying dates have shifted earlier by approximately one week.

UK breeding population

No population change in UK (1995–2022)

Tree Pipits are summer visitors to wooded and scrub habitats in Britain, occupying areas with prominent song-posts coupled with a sparse field and shrub layer. Such conditions are provided by heavily grazed woods in upland areas, early and clear-fell stages of conifer plantations and lowland heaths and scrubby downland. Tree Pipit distribution is biased towards the west and north, although there are significant populations on southern heaths and in association with forest plantations in East Anglia. They are rare breeders in Ireland.

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Occupied 10-km squares in UK

No. occupied in breeding season	1269
% occupied in breeding season	42
No. occupied in winter	3
% occupied in winter	0.1

European Distribution Map

European Breeding Bird Atlas 2

Breeding Season Habitats

Most frequent in

Scrub, Coniferous Wood

Relative frequency by habitat

Relative occurrence in different habitat types during the breeding season.

The British breeding range of the Tree Pipit is now 29% smaller than is was in 1968–72. Losses have spread from central England in to southeast and northern England and the Scottish Central Belt. In core upland breeding areas abundance has also declined, although there are notable increases in eastern Scotland.

% change in range in breeding season (1968–72 to 2008–11)

-29.2%

Tree Pipit is a localised summer visitor, arriving through April when it is easily detected by its song; a scarce and under-recorded passage migrant in autumn during August and September.

View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report.

Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland

View number ringed each year in the Online Ringing Report

Maximum Age from Ringing	6 years 7 months 0 days (set in 1938)
Typical Lifespan	2 years with breeding typically at 1 year
Adult Survival	0.42

Wing Length	Adults	87.6±2.6 | Range 83–91mm, N=343
	Juveniles	87.6±2.4 | Range 84-91mm, N=371
	Males	88.5±2 | Range 85–92mm, N=142
	Females	85.4±2.3 | Range 82–89mm, N=51

Body Weight	Adults	21.6±1.6 | Range 19.1–24.2g, N=312
	Juveniles	22.1±1.9 | Range 19.2–25.4g, N=306
	Males	21.8±1.1 | Range 19.9–23.6g, N=129
	Females	21.4±1.3 | Range 19.1–23.5g, N=42

Feather measurements and photos on featherbase

Ring size	A
Field Codes	2-letter: TP | 5-letter code: TREPI | Euring: 10090

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Causes of change

The availability of suitably structured habitat is important and lack of this may have contributed to the decline, possibly through a decrease in nest survival, although evidence for this is based largely on one site, and analysis of data from six other areas concluded that changes in woodland structure were unlikely to be the main driver of population change. This species being a long-distance migrant, problems on its wintering grounds should not be ruled out.

Further information on causes of change

A detailed, eight-year study in Thetford Forest conducted by Burton (2009) provides good evidence that there was a significant decrease in daily nest survival during the chick stage and that overall nesting success was lowest in clearfells and recently planted stands. Overall nesting success appeared to be determined at the habitat scale, and Burton suggested that this may have been because the broad differences in cover between habitats affected the likelihood of nest predation (the main cause of nest failure). Charman et al. (2009) also found that Tree Pipits have high failure rates at the chick stage and implicate predation. It should be noted that records from Thetford Forest, in southeast England, probably contribute over half the nest records for this species each year; thus these trends may not be representative of the UK as a whole. Research by Mallord et al. (2016) found no evidence that changes in woodland structure affected populations in six study areas in the west of the UK.

This species prefers open ground within woodlands and upland grazed woods lacking understorey, and also occupies clearfells, restocks, new plantations, heaths and commons where trees provide songposts (Fuller 1995, Burton 2007, Charman et al. 2009). The species' decline has been greatest in lowland England, particularly in the wider countryside in woodland and common land (Gibbons et al. 1993) and, accordingly, several authors have proposed that the population decline may be linked to the changing forest structure as new plantations mature, and the reduced management of lowland woods (Fuller et al. 2005, Amar et al. 2006, Charman et al. 2009). Data provided by the Repeat Woodland Bird Survey (RWBS) gives reliable evidence that sub-canopy vegetation increased markedly in almost all regions covered between the 1980s and the early 2000s and analyses found that declines of Tree Pipit occurred in woods with higher maximum tree height and increased foliage (Amar et al. 2006, Smart et al. 2007). Fuller & Moreton (1987) and Burton (2007) provide evidence, respectively, for associations with young coppice and, within coniferous plantations, for young restocks, and a disassociation with closed-canopy woodlands. Amar et al. (2006) state that the lack of new plantations and restocks in southern Britain may have contributed to the decline of this species, although specific analyses providing evidence for this were lacking. They also found that Tree Pipit declined more in sites with more tracks, suggesting disturbance can be an issue (Amar et al. 2006, Smart et al. 2007). Burgess et al. (2015) agree that declining availability of young coniferous woodland contributed to Tree Pipit population decline in England. Targeted management, such as the provision of large blocks of habitat and the retention of mature trees for use as songposts, was found to be beneficial (Burton 2007).

In upland habitats, Fuller et al. (2006) provided evidence showing that both overgrazing and agricultural abandonment of marginal habitats may have detrimental effects on Tree Pipits.

Hewson et al. (2007) analysed the Repeat Woodland Bird Survey and BBS/CBC data and found declines in all of the seven long-distance migrant species considered, including Tree Pipit. Thus, although specific evidence relating to factors operating on the wintering grounds is lacking, these cannot be ruled out as causes of population decline.

Information about conservation actions

The strong decline which occurred in the 1990s is possibly linked to changes in woodland structure, although the evidence for this is contradictory (see Causes of Change section, above). Tree Pipits prefer young coppice or restocks and hence rotational management over large forest areas may be needed to ensure that optimal habitat continues to be available on an ongoing basis. Targeted management, such as the provision of large blocks of habitat and the retention of mature trees for use as song posts, was found to be beneficial in Thetford Forest in East Anglia, with the retention of trees enabling the species to use newly cleared areas immediately rather than waiting a few years until new trees were tall enough to be used as song posts (Burton 2007).

There is also evidence that disturbance can be an issue (Amar et al. 2006; Smart et al. 2007); hence actions to reduce disturbance should also be considered, such as limiting or preventing access to key sites or by focusing recreational activity towards specific areas (e.g. by targeted placement of car parks).