TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS SPECIES
Our mind still marked by this wonderful appearance so coveted, we take again our car in order to climb higher in this superb road which snakes into the Teide’s Park. Vegetation disappears little by little, replaced by arid and rocky areas, with changing contrasted colours. Result of the various Teide’s eruptions, the last in 1909, these lunar and chaotic landscapes bathed in sunlight are found above 2,200 metres of elevation. Further, the snowy top soars up at about 3,715 metres into the blue sky. We are entering into the Berthelot’s Pipit habitat, another endemic to Tenerife.
This slender bird has its legs relatively far behind the body. It runs into the loose stones as a mouse! Its cryptic colours make it almost invisible on the stony ground. But it is interested by the hotel-bar terrace found in the middle of the park. I meet it in the parking, very close to the car. Then, I see several birds around the tables, and I understand that this wild species is similar to our House Sparrows in front of crumbs of bread… But it also feeds in bushes and Indian Fig Opuntia.
These birds live in family groups and are primarily terrestrial, preferring to run rather than to fly away. Its nest is also on the ground. The Berthelot’s Pipit moves by flicking its tail up and down, as a wagtail. Its conspicuous whitish eyebrow, the streaks on the chest and the very finely streaked brownish colour of upper parts help quickly to identify it. It moves quickly and rarely perches in trees. This species is sedentary and is only found in these arid areas of the island, in altitude.
Copyright Nicole Bouglouan
