Ochre-breasted Pipit

13.5 cm. A rare pipit. Streaked blackish and ochraceous on the back. Tail blackish with white outer tail feathers. Throat white. Chest yellow orange with quite heavy streaking. Belly buff-whitish. The song, a sequence of different repeated staccato notes which is itself repeated again and again while the bird hovers in big circles up to 100 feet high in the air, ends with a "eeeeeeuuu", when the bird slowly descends sailing to the ground. Forages walking on the ground in pairs or small groups. Breeds in Southeast Brazil ^119 . Singing individuals observed near Itirapina in October and November. Probably September-January. Rare and local, according to Edwin Willis almost extinct in Estado Sao Paulo due to use of introduced grass species and overgrazing. Prefers "campo natural", where the amount of lifestock is reduced or before the yearly burning. Apparently likes areas close to water, where it hunts for insects on the ground ^119 . May appear closer to the coast, when conditions are favorable, but usually not in costal areas. Found near<8E>Itirapina<8E>in 1999. Extralimital regularly encountered in the Serra da Canastra. Old recordings from Estado S<C4>o Paulo are from<8E>Ipiranga which is now within the city limit of S<C4>o Paulo , Itarar<CA><8E>and<8E>Itapetininga ^40 : to 1500 meters 8400 Song. Itirapina, 11<10>14<10>95. Song. Sunny, some clouds, 25 <91>C. Wet meadows close to a brook: 3947 Song. Serra da Canastra, 11<10>11<10>98. Sunny, 25<91>C. Campo, relatively high grassy plains. With /Rhynchotus rufescens .: 7142 >: 2442 . Itirapina, S<C4>o Paulo, photograph by Richard Cech, NY., USA.: