Water Pipit

The Water Pipit is a medium-sized pipit, a bit bigger than the pipit for example. In the nuptial plumage, it is characteristic and unmistakable. However, in the internuptial or first winter plumage, it has a certain similarity with the other pipits and one must pay attention to the distinctive criteria.
The adult of the nominal subspecies can easily be recognized by its gray head marked with a very visible white eyebrow, its pale pink chest and its blackish legs. That is enough.
Let's still take a look at the rest in detail. The eye is circled with white and the completely black beak is long, like a dagger. The upper parts are of a rather cold brown-grey, vaguely striped with dark, except for the russet-colored rump. The throat, the sides of the neck and the chest are invaded by pale pink, more pronounced in the male. The flanks are slightly striated. The female has the head slightly less gray, the pink of the lower part less intense and its flanks slightly more striated. The belly and the undertail are white. The wings and tail are dark brown. On the former, you can see an alar bar due to the dark very dark medium coverts and another less distinct on the large coverts. On the tail, it can be seen that the two outer pairs of rectrices show white. The outermost one has the whole outer vane white and the next one just has white at the tip. This can be seen well when taking off or during grooming. The legs are dark brownish-red in good light, otherwise blackish. The adults of the two other subspecies differ slightly in terms of plumage color, but we will not go into these details.
The internuptial adult loses the beautiful gray tone of the head and the pink below. The upper parts are brown with a slight alternation of medium and dark brown zones.In new plumage, the wings feathers are fringed with chamois. The blackish-brown middletop coverts ending in white are well visible on the side. The undersides are white, slightly tinged with rufus on the flanks. Quite fine, dark brown streaks spread over the chest and flanks. The head keeps a clear whitish-rufous eyebrow between the crown and the brown auricular coverts. The beak has yellow on the lower mandible. A thin dark moustache line ends up on each side of the neck to triangular blackish zones surrounding the white throat.
The young bird of first winter looks a lot like the adult inter-nupital. It is even browner above, but mainly, the mantle is now clearly marked in long bands of light and dark, not to the same extent as the Water Pipit, but still visible. The underside, often more rufous is still more streaked than the adult's. The legs are redish.