The Red-throated Pipit nests on the ground and places its cup-shaped nest well hidden among tussocks and low vegetation in the damp mountain terrain. The clutch usually comprises 5–6 eggs laid during June, and the species normally has only one brood per season. The female does most of the incubation, while both parents feed the young. The short subarctic summer gives a narrow window of time, and breeding must be completed before the migration south begins.