---
title: "Sprague's Pipit"
description: "Anthus spragueii — Birds. Sprague's pipit (Anthus spragueii) is a small songbird (passerine) in the family Motacillidae that breeds in the short- and mixed-grass prairies of North America."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/sprague-s-pipit
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Sprague's Pipit

> Anthus spragueii — Birds. Sprague's pipit (Anthus spragueii) is a small songbird (passerine) in the family Motacillidae that breeds in the short- and mixed-grass prairies of North America.

- Scientific name: *Anthus spragueii*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `grassland` (Fields & meadows)
- iNaturalist observations: 808
- Wikidata: [Q1588724](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1588724)
- iNaturalist taxon: [13710](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/13710)

## Names

- en: Sprague's Pipit
- de: Präriepieper
- es: Bisbita llanera
- fr: Pipit de Sprague
- pl: Świergotek preriowy

## Countries with the most observations

US (459), CA (128), MX (61)

## Summary

Sprague's pipit (Anthus spragueii) is a small songbird (passerine) in the family Motacillidae that breeds in the short- and mixed-grass prairies of North America. Migratory, it spends the winters in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Sprague's pipits are unusual among songbirds in that they sing high in the sky, somewhat like a goldfinch or skylark. It is more often identified by its distinctive descending song heard from above than by being seen on the ground. Males and females are cryptically coloured and similar in appearance; they are a buffy brown with darker streaking, slender bills and pinkish…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprague%27s_pipit

## Photo

![Sprague's Pipit](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/sprague-s-pipit/medium.jpg)

Photo: Owen McElroy · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/57961289

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/sprague-s-pipit?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).