European Rock Pipit
Anthus petrosus

Rock Pipits are a common bird around Britain's coastline, favouring (as the name suggests) rocky or stony shores where they hunt for the invertebrates that make up their diet. They are found on the coast of Western and Northern Europe with Russian and Scandinavian populations migrating south in winter as far as Spain and North Africa. These northern birds are of subspecies littoralis, which are usually a shade paler with a more prominent supercilium while UK birds of ssp. petrosus are darker. They are closely related to Water Pipits which are more often found inland and in mountainous regions of Europe and Asia and the Buff-bellied Pipit of North America and East Asia - all three were formerly considered races of the same species. They are slightly larger than the also-common Meadow Pipit at 15.5 - 17 cm in length.
 

European Rock Pipit

European Rock Pipit

European Rock Pipit

1-2: Hartland Quay, Devon, 18/09/2013.
3: Farlington Marshes LNR, Hampshire, 18/12/2012.