Greater short-toed lark

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Greater short-toed lark
Alouette calandrelle ichkeul001.jpg
Ichkeul National Park ,Tunisia
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Alaudidae
Genus: Calandrella
Species:
C. brachydactyla
Binomial name
Calandrella brachydactyla
(Leisler, 1814)
Subspecies

See text

CalandrellaBrachydactylaIUCN2019 2.png
Range of C. brachydactyla
  Breeding
  Resident
  Passage
  Non-breeding
Synonyms
  • Alauda brachydactila
  • Calandrella brachydactila

The greater short-toed lark (Calandrella brachydactyla) 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". [2]

Contents

It breeds in southern Europe, north-west Africa, and across the Palearctic from Turkey and southern Russia to Mongolia. During migration they form large, tight flocks that move in unison; at other times they form loose flocks.

Taxonomy and systematics

The greater short-toed lark was described by the German naturalist Johann Leisler in 1814 and given the binomial name Alauda brachydactila. [3] This lark is now placed in the genus Calandrella that was established by another German naturalist, Johann Jakob Kaup, in 1829. [4] The specific name brachydactyla is from the Ancient Greek βραχυδακτυλος brakhudaktulos "short-toed" from brakhus "short" and daktulos "toe". [5] The alternate name short-toed lark may also be used for three other species in the genus Calandrella. The Mongolian short-toed lark was formerly considered as a subspecies of the greater short-toed lark (as C. b. dukhunensis) until split in 2016 by the IOC. [6] Formerly, some authorities also considered the red-capped lark to be either conspecific (as C. cinerea) with or a subspecies (as C. b. cinerea) of the greater short-toed lark. [7]

Subspecies

Eight subspecies are recognized: [8]

The syntypes of Calandrella hermonensis Tristram (Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1864, p.434), 3 adult males and a juvenile, are held in the vertebrate zoology collection of National Museums Liverpool at World Museum, with accession numbers NML-VZ T15738, NML-VZ T17770, NML-VZ T17771 and NML-VZ T17773. The specimens were collected at the foot of Mount Hermon, Lebanon in June 1864 by Canon Henry Baker Tristram. The specimens came to the Liverpool national collection through the purchase of Tristram's collection by the museum in 1896. [9]

Description

Several subspecies have been named but there is considerable geneflow and the species itself forms part of a larger complex. This is a small pale lark, smaller than the skylark. It is dark-streaked greyish-brown above, and white below, and has a strong pointed bill that is pinkish with a grey culmen. It has a pale supercilium, dark patches on each side of its neck and a dark tail. Some birds in the west of the range have a rufous crown. The sexes are similar. The greater short-toed lark is paler than the Mongolian short-toed lark which also has a shorter bill. [10] In winter they fly in large and compact flocks that swing in synchrony. [11] Care must be taken to distinguish this species from other similar Calandrella larks, such as the Mediterranean short-toed lark.

The nominate form breeds in Europe (Iberia, France, Italy, the Balkans and Romania) and winters in Africa. Subspecies hungarica breeds in the eastern parts of Europe while rubiginosa breeds in north-western Africa. Subspecies hermonensis (sometimes including woltersi) breeds in Turkey, Syria and Egypt. Subspecies artemisiana (considered by some to be synonymous with longipennis [12] ) breeds in Asia Minor and winters in southern west Asia. Subspecies longipennis breeds in Ukraine, Mongolia and Manchuria and winters in South Asia mainly in the drier zone of north-western India. [11]

The song varies between a dry twittering and a more varied and imitative melody. Flocks will often fly together to water in the mornings at favourite spots. In the evenings they roost in open ground, with each bird squatting in a small depression made in the soil. [13]

Distribution and habitat

All but some southernmost populations are migratory, wintering south to the southern edge of the Sahara and India. This species is a fairly common wanderer to northern and western Europe in spring and autumn. [14] Populations breeding in the Iberian Peninsula winter south of the Sahara in Africa. Here they prefer crop land and dry pastures with short shrubs while the syntopic Mediterranean short-toed larks (Calandrella rufescens) prefer drier areas. [15]

This is a common bird of dry open country and cultivation. It nests on the ground, laying two to three eggs. Its food is seeds and insects, the latter especially in the breeding season.

In colonial India, they were hunted for food as ortolans. [11]

They visit parts of South Asia in large flocks during winter and are sometimes attracted to short grass areas along aerodromes and become a bird strike risk to aircraft. [16]

Related Research Articles

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

The calandra lark 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.

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

The crested lark is a species of lark widespread across Eurasia and northern Africa. It is a non-migratory bird, but can occasionally be found as a vagrant in Great Britain.

Short-toed lark refers to a number of species of lark:

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

The Mediterraneanshort-toed lark is a small passerine bird found in and around the Mediterranean Basin. It is a common bird with a very wide range from Canary Islands north to the Iberian Peninsula and east throughout North Africa to parts of the Middle East. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".

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

The greater hoopoe-lark is a passerine bird which is a breeding resident of arid, desert and semi-desert regions from the Cape Verde Islands across much of northern Africa, through the Arabian peninsula, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. It was formerly known as the bifasciated lark and sometimes as the large desert lark.

<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.

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

The Oriental skylark, also known as the small skylark, is a species of skylark found in the Sino-Indian region and parts of central Asia. Like other skylarks, it is found in open grassland where it feeds on seeds and insects.

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

The red-capped lark is a small passerine bird that breeds in the highlands of eastern Africa southwards from Ethiopia and Somaliland. In the south, its range stretches across the continent to Angola and south to the Cape in South Africa.

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

The sand lark is a small passerine bird in the lark family, Alaudidae, found in southern Asia. It is somewhat similar to, but smaller than the short-toed larks.

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

The pink-billed lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found in southern Africa. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland. It is described as having a low breeding success rate.

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

Hume's short-toed lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is found in south-central Asia from Iran and Kazakhstan to China.

<i>Calandrella</i> Genus of birds

Calandrella is a genus of larks in the family Alaudidae.

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

The Asian short-toed lark is a lark in the family Alaudidae. The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1871. It is found from south-central to eastern Asia.

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

The Somali short-toed lark is a small passerine bird of the lark family found in eastern and north-eastern Africa.

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

Blanford's lark or Blanford's short-toed lark is a small passerine bird of the lark family, Alaudidae, which is native to north-eastern Africa. Its common name commemorates the English zoologist William Thomas Blanford.

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

The Maghreb lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found in the Maghreb desert of north-western Africa.

The Athi short-toed lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is found in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania.

<i>Alaudala</i> Genus of birds

Alaudala is a genus of lark in the family Alaudidae. The genus name is a diminutive of Alauda.

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

The Mongolian short-toed lark or Sykes's short-toed lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It breeds in China and Mongolia and winters in southern Asia.

Eastern short-toed lark may refer to:

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2018). "Calandrella brachydactyla". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T103766207A132042070. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T103766207A132042070.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 76, 84. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  3. ↑ Leisler, Johann Philipp Achilles (1814). "Die kurzzehige Lerche Alauda brachydactila". Annalen der Wetterauischen Gesellschaft für die Gesammte Naturkunde zu Hanau (in German). 3: 357, plate 19.
  4. ↑ Kaup, Johann Jakob (1829). Skizzirte Entwickelungs-Geschichte und natürliches System der europäischen Thierwelt (in German). Darmstadt: Carl Wilhelm Leske. p. 39.
  5. ↑ Jobling, J.A. (2018). del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). "Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  6. ↑ "Species Updates « IOC World Bird List". www.worldbirdnames.org. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  7. ↑ "Calandrella cinerea - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  8. ↑ "IOC World Bird List 6.4". IOC World Bird List Datasets. doi: 10.14344/ioc.ml.6.4 .
  9. ↑ R. Wagstaffe (1 December 1978). Type Specimens of Birds in the Merseyside County Museums (formerly City of Liverpool Museums).
  10. ↑ Rasmussen, PC; JC Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Vol. 2. Smithsonian Institution & Lynx edicions. p. 303.
  11. 1 2 3 Whistler, Hugh (1949). Popular Handbook of Indian Birds (4th ed.). Gurney and Jackson, London. p.  256.
  12. ↑ Dickinson, E.C.; R.W.R.J. Dekker (2001). "Systematic notes on Asian birds. 11. A preliminary review of the Alaudidae" (PDF). Zool. Verh. Leiden. 335: 61–84. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 October 2007.
  13. ↑ Ali, S; S D Ripley (1986). Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan. Vol. 5 (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 19–22.
  14. ↑ Tomek, T. & Bocheński, Z. (2005). "Weichselian and Holocene bird remains from Komarowa Cave, Central Poland" (PDF). Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia. 48A (1–2): 43–65. doi:10.3409/173491505783995743.
  15. ↑ Suarez, Francisco; Vincente Garza; Manuel B Morales (2002). "Habitat use of two sibling species, the Short-toed Calandrella brachydactyla and the Lesser Short-toed C. rufescens Larks in mainland Spain" (PDF). Ardeola. 49 (2): 259–272.
  16. ↑ Mahesh, SS (2009). "Management of Greater Short-toed Larks Calandrella brachydactyla in Indian aerodromes". Indian Birds. 5 (1): 2–6.
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