Birdwatching - 3175🐦

🦉 The olive-backed pipit (Anthus hodgsoni)

• Anthus (ancient Greek mythology) Anthus, son of Hippodamia, turned into a bird
• hodgsoni Brian Houghton Hodgson (1800–1894) diplomat, orientalist, naturalist, collector in India and Nepal,

This forest wagtail is very similar to its closest relative, the tree pipit. At first glance, they are indistinguishable, and even I don't recognize this bird when I'm out in the forest, only after carefully examining photographs at home.
The olive-backed pipit has a greenish-olive upperparts, while the forest pipit has a brownish-gray or ochre upperparts. The olive-backed pipit has a more pronounced light supercilium and contrasting head pattern, and the streaks on the chest and flanks are more distinct.

This bird is rare, and I encounter it quite rarely, so I can't say when they arrive.
It feeds mainly on insects and other small invertebrates, which it deftly snatches from the ground as it darts from one place to another.