A medium-sized bird of Alpine Grasslands. Brown upperparts with faintly streaked back and crown, dark wing feathers with pale edges, cream to pale buff underparts and a broad pale eyebrow. Prefers short grass with bushes nearby. Similar to Australasian Pipit but Alpine is larger, found at higher elevations and has buffy underparts and unstreaked chest. A rich and varied song. Several whistled notes are given before changing to the next set with different pitch, tone, sometimes rising or falling.