Hume's short-toed lark

Last updated

Hume's short-toed lark
Hume's Short-toed Lark Laxman Chowk, Sikkim, India 13.05.2014.jpg
From Laxman chowk, close to Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary, Sikkim, India
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Alaudidae
Genus: Calandrella
Species:
C. acutirostris
Binomial name
Calandrella acutirostris
Hume, 1873
Subspecies

See text

Calandrella acutirostris distribution map.png

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

Contents

Taxonomy and systematics

The name commemorates the British naturalist Allan Octavian Hume who described the species. [2] The alternate name short-toed lark may also be used for three other species in the genus Calandrella. The alternate name lesser short-toed lark should not be confused with the species of the same name, Alaudala rufescens . Other alternate names for Hume's short-toed lark include Hume's lark and Karakoram short-toed lark. [3]

Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognized: [4]

Description

Hume's short-toed lark is similar in size and appearance to the greater short-toed lark but is generally a duller-looking bird with slightly darker plumage and a slightly smaller beak. As with the greater short-toed lark, the colour varies across the broad range and is not a good distinguishing feature. Hume's short-toed lark grows to a length of from 13 to 14 cm (5.1 to 5.5 in) and the sexes are similar. The crown is brown with slight diffuse streaking, the cheeks are rufous-brown and the supercilium white. The upper parts are greyish-brown or sandy brown with darker streaking, and the upper tail coverts are washed with rufous-brown. The wings are greyish-brown with black barring and pale tips to the feathers. The underparts are mostly whitish, but there is a dark neck patch and a buffish-grey breast band. The breast is unstreaked. The voice helps distinguish this species; vocalisations include a shrill "trree" and a more rolling "drreep". [5]

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">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">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".

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">Desert lark</span> Species of bird

The desert lark breeds in deserts and semi-deserts from Morocco to western India. It has a very wide distribution and faces no obvious threats, and surveys have shown that it is slowly increasing in numbers as it expands its range. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".

<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">Jerdon's bush lark</span> Species of bird

Jerdon's bush lark or Jerdon's lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found in south Asia. This was formerly considered as a subspecies of Mirafra assamica and termed as the Madras bushlark. Two other species in the complex include Mirafra marionae and Mirafra microptera. Jerdon's bush lark is typically very pale on the underside

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

The rufous-tailed lark, also sometimes called the rufous-tailed finch-lark, is a ground bird found in the drier open stony habitats of India and parts of Pakistan. Like other species in the genus it has a large finch-like bill with a slightly curved edge to the upper mandible. The dull brown colour matches the soil as it forages for grass seeds, grain and insects. Males and females are indistinguishable in the field but during the breeding season, the male has a courtship display that involves flying up steeply and then nose-diving and pulling up in a series of stepped wavy dips accompanied by calling. They forage on the ground in pairs or small groups.

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

The Indian bush lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found in South Asia.

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

The red-capped lark is a small passerine bird. This lark 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">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">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.

<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".

<i>Calandrella</i> Genus of birds

Calandrella is a genus of larks in the family Alaudidae.

<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">Rufous-naped lark</span> Species of bird

The rufous-naped lark or rufous-naped bush lark is a widespread and conspicuous species of lark in the lightly wooded grasslands, open savannas and farmlands of the Afrotropics. Males attract attention to themselves by a bold and often repeated wing-fluttering display from a prominent perch, which is accompanied by a melodious and far-carrying whistled phrase. This rudimentary display has been proposed as the precursor to the wing-clapping displays of other bush lark species. They have consistently rufous outer wings and a short erectile crest, but the remaining plumage hues and markings are individually and geographically variable. It has a straight lower, and longish, curved upper mandible.

<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">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.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2016). "Calandrella acutirostris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22717325A94527506. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22717325A94527506.en . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael (2003). Whose Bird? Men and Women Commemorated in the Common Names of Birds. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 173–174.
  3. "Calandrella acutirostris - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
  4. "IOC World Bird List 6.4". IOC World Bird List Datasets. doi: 10.14344/ioc.ml.6.4 .
  5. Mark Beaman; Steve Madge (1998). The Handbook of Bird Identification: For Europe and the Western Palearctic. Christopher Helm. p. 547. ISBN   978-0-7136-3960-5.