| Mongolian short-toed lark | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Alaudidae |
| Genus: | Calandrella |
| Species: | C. dukhunensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Calandrella dukhunensis (Sykes, 1832) | |
| Synonyms | |
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The Mongolian short-toed lark or Sykes's short-toed lark (Calandrella dukhunensis) is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It breeds in China and Mongolia and winters in southern Asia.
The Mongolian short-toed lark was originally placed in the genus Alauda . It was then considered as a subspecies of the morphologically similar greater short-toed lark, but recent analyses of both mitochondrial [2] [3] and nuclear DNA [3] showed that it was more closely related to Hume's short-toed lark. It was split in 2016 by the IOC, although not all other authorities have recognized this re-classification to date. [4] Additionally, some authorities considered the Mongolian short-toed lark to be a subspecies of the red-capped lark. [5] The name 'Mongolian short-toed lark' is also used as an alternate name for the Asian short-toed lark. The alternate name short-toed lark may also be used for three other species in the genus Calandrella.
The Mongolian short-toed lark is darker and has a shorter bill than the greater short-toed lark. [6] The Mongolian short-toed lark breeds on the Tibetan plateau and winters mainly in peninsular India. [7]
Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. Larks have a cosmopolitan distribution with the largest number of species occurring in Africa. Only a single species, the horned lark, occurs in North America, and only Horsfield's bush lark occurs in Australia. Habitats vary widely, but many species live in dry regions. When the word "lark" is used without specification, it often refers to the Eurasian skylark (Alauda arvensis).
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".
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".
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".
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.
Horsfield's bush lark is a species of lark which inhabits grassland throughout most of Australia and much of Southeast Asia.
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.
The sand lark is a small passerine bird in the lark family, Alaudidae, found in southern Asia. It is somewhat similar, but smaller than the short-toed larks.
Mirafra is a genus of lark in the family Alaudidae. Some Mirafra species are called "larks", while others are called "bush larks". They are found from Africa through South Asia to Australia.
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.
The masked lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is found in Ethiopia and Kenya. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland.
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.
Calandrella is a genus of larks in the family Alaudidae.
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.
Sylvioidea is a superfamily of passerine birds, one of at least three major clades within the Passerida along with the Muscicapoidea and Passeroidea. It contains about 1300 species including the Old World warblers, Old World babblers, swallows, larks and bulbuls. Members of the clade are found worldwide, but fewer species are present in the Americas.
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.
The Maghreb lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found in the Maghreb desert of north-eastern Africa.
The Athi short-toed lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is found in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania.
Alaudala is a genus of lark in the family Alaudidae. The genus name is a diminutive of Alauda.
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.
