The New Zealand pipit is a small brown-and-white songbird that resembles a lark, but has longer legs, and walks rather than hops. They are birds of open country, including the tideline of sandy beaches, rough pasture, river beds and above the tree-line. Pipits are members of the wagtail family, and frequently flick their long tails as they walk. In flight their tails have narrow white sides – a character shared with skylarks, chaffinches, yellowhammers and cirl buntings.