It builds nests from dried grass, usually within tussac grass, and lays four eggs a year. It feeds on small insects and spiders, and beach debris.
It has been threatened by the human introduction of rats, and also by environmental damage caused by humans. It has been chosen as the poster bird of the South Georgia Heritage Trust's Habitat Restoration (Rat Eradication) project, which started eradicating rats on South Georgia in 2011. The project's baiting phase ended in early 2015, and success was confirmed in 2018.[2][3]
In 2004 the population was estimated to be 6000 to 8000 mature individuals.[4] Prior to the restoration it was rare to see South Georgia pipits, most often on the rat-free Prion Island. Afterwards their numbers have increased noticeably and are much more often seen by visitors.[5]
The South Georgia pipit is a small and stocky pipit, 17 cm (6.7 in) long and weighing 36 g (1.3 oz). The species has long legs and a long hindclaw and a short tail.[6]
^"Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels". Archived from the original on 2019-04-06. Retrieved 2019-04-06. News just in of the discovery of the first South Georgia Pipit [Anthus antarcticus] nest in an area cleared of rodents by the Habitat Restoration Project. The nest was spotted at Schlieper Bay on the South coast of the North-West baiting zone at Weddell Point.
^Higgins, P. J.; Pater, L. M.; Cowling, J. S., eds. (2006). Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Vol. 7: Boatbill to Starlings. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. pp. 1389–1391. ISBN0-19-553996-6.
