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Order
Passeriformes
Family
Alaudidae
Genus
Mirafra
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Ash's Lark Mirafra ashi Scientific name definitions

Peter Ryan
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated January 1, 2004

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Field Identification

17 cm; 31–42 g. Medium-sized to large lark, appearing grey-brown above with only faint wash of rufous. Has narrow, indistinct pale supercilium; in fresh plumage upperparts scaly-looking, with pale fringes and dark subterminal bars; primaries and outer secondaries have rufous margins, forming panel on closed wing; tertials finely barred; tail greyish, rectrices with pale buff margins separated from rest of feather by narrow blackish band, outer tail feathers edged white; underparts whitish, breast and flanks washed pinkish-buff, lower throat and breast faintly streaked rufous-brown, larger and darker streaks at side of breast; eyes dark brown; bill dark grey, paler blue-grey below; legs creamy. Differs from M. gilletti in larger size, longer bill and legs, and tail pattern; from M. somalica in smaller size, appreciably shorter bill, darker, less rufous and more streaked upperparts, smaller and narrower supercilium not extending far behind eye, narrower white on outer tail. Sexes alike. Juvenile is more heavily streaked above, with broad buffy edges of feathers, slightly richer buff below.

Systematics History

Monotypic.

Subspecies

Monotypic.

Distribution

E coastal plain of Somalia in area of Uarshek (80 km N of Mogadishu).

Habitat

Short, open grassland in stabilized dune systems with a few scattered bushes and fossil coral outcrops.

Movement

Unknown; presumably resident.

Diet and Foraging

Diet unknown. Runs across open ground between grass tufts; frequently perches on tops of tufts.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Undescribed; reported as often singing from tops of small bushes.

Breeding

A female had enlarged ovaries in Jul, but was also in active wing and tail moult. No other information; nest and eggs undescribed.

Conservation Status

ENDANGERED. Restricted-range species: present in Central Somali Coast EBA. Known to occur only in area just N of Uarshek, where it was reported as locally common in 1980s; almost certainly does not occur farther S, but possibly extends N along coastal plain. Current total range estimated as being 1730 km2, with global population of 2500–10,000 individuals and possibly decreasing, but these figures extremely speculative. No recent surveys, but it may be threatened within its tiny range, in which no protected areas exist, by habitat loss and degradation linked to new coastal developments. Conservation targets include fieldwork aimed at determing its total range and status, as well as identifying threats to its habitat. Moreover, this is an extremely poorly known species, with virtually no information on its appearance or behaviour in the field, and no information on its ecology.

Distribution of the Ash's Lark - Range Map
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  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
  • Non-Breeding
Distribution of the Ash's Lark

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Ryan, P. (2020). Ash's Lark (Mirafra ashi), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.ashlar1.01
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