Calandra lark

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Calandra lark
Berese.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Alaudidae
Genus: Melanocorypha
Species:
M. calandra
Binomial name
Melanocorypha calandra
(Linnaeus, 1766)
Melanocorypha calandra distribution map.png
Synonyms
  • Alauda calandraLinnaeus, 1766
Eggs of Melanocorypha calandra MHNT Melanocorypha calandra MHNT 232 Moulares Tunisie.jpg
Eggs of Melanocorypha calandra MHNT

The calandra lark (Melanocorypha calandra) or European calandra-lark breeds in warm temperate countries around the Mediterranean and eastwards through Turkey into northern Iran and southern Russia. It is replaced further east by its relative, the bimaculated lark.

Contents

Taxonomy and systematics

The calandra lark was originally placed in the genus Alauda . [2] The current genus name, Melanocorypha is from Ancient Greek melas, "black", and koruphos a term used by ancient writers for a now unknown bird, but here confused with korudos, "lark". "Calandra"' derives ultimately from kalandros the Ancient Greek name for this bird. [3] [4] The bimaculated lark is also sometimes termed as the calandra lark. [5]

Subspecies

Four subspecies are recognized: [6]

Description

This is a large, robust lark, 17.5–20 cm long. It is an undistinguished-looking species on the ground, mainly streaked greyish brown above and white below, and with large black patches on the breast sides. It has a white supercilium.

In flight it shows short broad wings, which are dark below, and a short white-edged tail. The wing and tail patterns are distinctions from its more easterly relatives.

The song is like a slower version of that of the skylark.

Distribution and habitat

It is mainly resident in the west of its range, but Russian populations of this passerine bird are more migratory, moving further south in winter, as far as the Arabian Peninsula and Egypt. It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe.

This is a bird of open cultivation and steppe. Its nest is on the ground, with 4–5 eggs being laid. Food is seeds supplemented with insects in the breeding season. It is gregarious outside the breeding season.

Behaviour and ecology

This species occupies open plains, from steppes and pastures to extensive dry cereal cultivations and true steppe with dense grass cover. In the Mediterranean Basin it is mainly found in dry pastures and dry cultivations. In cultivated areas, it prefers fallows, long-fallows and field edges and to a lesser extent sown fields, selecting unirrigated legumes and barley fields. The species is monogamous and lays eggs from early April to July. The nest is made from grass stems and small leaves, lined with softer material and built in a shallow depression on the ground, often under a tussock. Clutches are usually three to six eggs (de Juana and Suárez 2004). Its diet is seasonal, feeding mostly on insects in the summers and seeds and grass shoots in the winter. Mediterranean populations are resident, forming large flocks in the autumn and winter (Snow and Perrins 1998, de Juana and Suárez 2004). Eastern populations are migratory or partially migratory (de Juana and Suárez 2004). [1]

Parasites of the calandra lark include the chewing louse Ricinus vaderi , described from specimens collected in Azerbaijan. [7]

In culture

The song is considered so musical to human ears that the calandra lark was formerly a popular cagebird in its range. [8] It is mentioned in, for instance, the Tuscan proverb "Canta come una calandra", he or she sings like a lark, [9] and the Spanish ballad "Romance del prisionero", where its song is the only way the prisoner knows when day breaks. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bimaculated lark</span> Species of bird

The bimaculated lark breeds in warm temperate countries eastwards from Turkey into Central Asia. It is the eastern counterpart of its relative, the calandra lark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black lark</span> Species of bird

The black lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found in south-eastern Russia and Kazakhstan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thekla's lark</span> Species of bird

Thekla's lark, also known as the Thekla lark, is a species of lark that breeds on the Iberian Peninsula, in northern Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal to Somalia. It is a sedentary (non-migratory) species. This is a common bird of dry open country, often at some altitude. Thekla's lark was named by Alfred Edmund Brehm in 1857 for his recently deceased sister Thekla Brehm (1833–1857). The name is a modern Greek one, Θέκλα, which comes from ancient Greek Θεόκλεια (Theokleia) derived from θεός and κλέος. The population is declining in Spain, but this is a common bird with a very wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater short-toed lark</span> Species of bird

The greater short-toed lark is a small passerine bird. The current scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus name, Calandrella, is a diminutive of kalandros, the calandra lark, and brachydactila is from brakhus, "short", and daktulos, "toe".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mediterranean short-toed lark</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dupont's lark</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desert lark</span> Species of bird

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<i>Alauda</i> Genus of birds

Alauda is a genus of larks found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands. Further, at least two additional species are known from the fossil record. The current genus name is from Latin alauda, "lark". Pliny the Elder thought the word was originally of Celtic origin.

<i>Melanocorypha</i> Genus of birds

Melanocorypha is a small genus of birds in the lark family. The current genus name, Melanocorypha is from Ancient Greek melas, "black", and koruphos a term used by ancient writer for a now unknown bird, but here confused with korudos, "lark".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oriental skylark</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Large-billed lark</span> Species of bird

The large-billed lark or southern thick-billed lark is a small passerine bird found in southern Africa. The name "large-billed lark" may also refer to Bradfield's lark. The name "thick-billed lark" more commonly refers to the species of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dusky lark</span> Species of bird

The dusky lark, also known as the dusky bush lark or rufous-rumped bush lark, is a species of migratory lark in the family Alaudidae. It is native to the southern Afrotropics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thick-billed lark</span> Species of bird

The thick-billed lark or Clotbey lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bar-tailed lark</span> Species of bird

The bar-tailed lark or bar-tailed desert lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. Two other species, the rufous-tailed lark and the Cape clapper lark are both also sometimes referred to using the name bar-tailed lark. It is found from Morocco to Pakistan. Its natural habitat is hot deserts. This is in many places a common species, but elsewhere rather less common. It has a very wide distribution and faces no obvious threats, but surveys have shown that it is slowly decreasing in numbers. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hume's short-toed lark</span> Species of bird

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<i>Calandrella</i> Genus of birds

Calandrella is a genus of larks in the family Alaudidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape long-billed lark</span> Species of bird

The Cape long-billed lark, also known as the Cape lark, Cape longbill or long-billed lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is found in south-western Africa. Its natural habitats are semi-arid Karoo shrub and subtropical dry shrubland and subtropical or dry lowland and highveld grassland. This lark is also found in croplands, farmlands and coastal fynbos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tibetan lark</span> Species of bird

The Tibetan lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found on the Tibetan plateau from north-western India to central China. Alternate names for this species include the Asiatic lark, long-billed calandra lark and long-billed lark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mongolian lark</span> Species of bird

The Mongolian lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found from southern Russia and Mongolia to central China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turkestan short-toed lark</span> Species of bird

The Turkestan short-toed lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is found in Ukraine and central Turkey through parts of Central Asia and southern Siberia west to south-central Mongolia and south to southern Afghanistan. This species and the Mediterranean short-toed lark were formerly considered conspecific and called the lesser short-toed lark, but a 2020 study recovered them as distinct species.

References

  1. 1 2 BirdLife International (2016). "Melanocorypha calandra". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22717285A87485192. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22717285A87485192.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. "Melanocorypha calandra - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 2016-12-15.
  3. Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 84, 247. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  4. "Calandra" . Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press.(Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  5. "Melanocorypha bimaculata - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
  6. "IOC World Bird List 6.4". IOC World Bird List Datasets. doi: 10.14344/ioc.ml.6.4 .
  7. Valan, Miroslav; Sychra, Oldrich; Literak, Ivan (2016). "Chewing lice of genus Ricinus (Phthiraptera, Ricinidae) deposited at the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg, Russia, with description of a new species". Parasite. 23: 7. doi:10.1051/parasite/2016007. ISSN   1776-1042. PMC   4763114 . PMID   26902646. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  8. Kikkawa, Jiro (2003). "Larks" . In Perrins, Christopher (ed.). Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds. Firefly Books. pp.  578–583. ISBN   1-55297-777-3.
  9. Giusti, Giuseppe (1853). Raccolta di proverbi toscani. F. Monnier. pp.  364 . Retrieved 2008-06-21. canta una calandra.
  10. Stanley, ed. (2004). Spanish Traditional Ballads/Romances Viejos Españoles. Translated by Applebaum. Courier Dover Publications. pp. 214–215. ISBN   0-486-42694-7 . Retrieved 2008-06-21.