Liben Lark Heteromirafra archeri Scientific name definitions

15–16 cm; 30 g (race sidamoensis). Peculiar short-tailed, large-headed lark with extremely long hind claw. Has pale median crownstripe, broad creamy supercilium ; boldly patterned above , with rufous and dark brown feathers broadly edged buff and whitish on crown and back, paler neck and mantle buffy brown with dark streaks; wing-coverts and tertials broadly edged creamy buff; flight-feathers dark brown with narrow buff edges; tail dark brown with cream-buff margins, outer feather entirely creamy buff; underparts creamy buff, with fine dark brown streaks on breast ; eyes brown; bill pale horn-brown above, whitish horn below; legs pale flesh-brown. Distinguished from H. ruddi by slightly larger size, paler upperparts (broader pale feather margins), better-defined spots on breast; from Mirafra cantillans by larger size, much shorter tail, rufous in wing. Sexes alike. Juvenile unknown. Race sidamoensis is slightly smaller and darker, with warm rufous-buff (rather than creamy) feather edges.

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Nominate race found in open grassland at one site (between Jifa and Ban Wujaleh); at other, 100 km to NW (N of Buramo), more rocky terrain with sparse shrubland and scattered grass. Both sites at 1500 m elevation, with annual rainfall 300–400 mm. Race sidamoensis also occurs in patches of open grassland with scattered bushes among denser semi-arid acacia (Acacia) savanna and woodland, at 1450 m; its habitat today consists of relatively short grassland, but evidence from earlier decades suggests that areas of longer grass may have been important (3 Collar, N.J., Abebe, Y.D., Fishpool, L.D.C., Gabremichael, M.C., Spottiswoode, C.N. and Wondafrash, M. (2008). Type locality, habitat, behaviour, voice, nest, eggs and plight of the Sidamo Lark Heteromirafra sidamoensis. Bulletin of the African Bird Club. 15(2): 180–190. Close ). In a survey in 2007, males preferentially occurred in areas of grassland with greater cover of medium-length grass (5–15 cm), less cover of bare ground and fewer bushes (4 Spottiswoode, C.N., Wondafrash, M., Gabremichael, M.N., Abebe, Y.D. , Mwangi, M.A.K., Collar, N.J. and Dolman, P.M. (2009). Rangeland degradation is poised to cause Africa’s first recorded avian extinction. Animal Conservation. 12(3): 249–257. Close ).

Probably resident.

Diet unknown, but adults have been observed apparently carrying caterpillars to young in a nest. Often stands upright , but when disturbed scuttles away, keeping to dense cover, and hard to relocate ; behaviour similar to that of congeners.

Vocalizations of nominate race unknown. Song of male of race sidamoensis is a series of buzzy whistles and trills , longer and more varied than that of H. ruddi, typically given in aerial display; it opens with 5–6 short high whistles, each note slightly lower than the preceding (“tii- tii- tii- tii- tii”, rather like the thin descending flight call of a Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis) (two seconds), merging into a short jumble of jingling whistles (two seconds), immediately prior to main part of song, begun at onset of hovering flight, a variable number of repetitions (up to 16, but as few as five) of a stereotyped rising or falling phrase (each phrase c.2·5 seconds long), terminating in a short burry coda, each note often slightly rising but also often lower than the preceding (“swerzz- wrz- wrz- wrz- wrz- wrz”, two seconds); both duration and content appear variable between and within individuals. When flushed, sometimes a soft “tswee-ee-eep” while hovering briefly 3–4 m above ground. Also a soft “twi-twi-twi” call (up to nine notes over 2·3 seconds, the last barely audible), which is perhaps an alarm call, and is somewhat reminiscent of a Pectoral-patch Cisticola (Cisticola brunnescens) but sweeter and longer, each note more upward-inflected, and with a plaintive tone (3 Collar, N.J., Abebe, Y.D., Fishpool, L.D.C., Gabremichael, M.C., Spottiswoode, C.N. and Wondafrash, M. (2008). Type locality, habitat, behaviour, voice, nest, eggs and plight of the Sidamo Lark Heteromirafra sidamoensis. Bulletin of the African Bird Club. 15(2): 180–190. Close ).

Little known and most data pertain to race sidamoensis. Nominate breeds in Jun. Display of race sidamoensis mainly observed in Jan–May although season obviously longer than this based on nests found (see below), and song-flights delivered in bouts at a rate of 0·7–0·75 per minute, in one case in an area with a diameter of 150 m. Probably monogamous. Display of nominate not known, but in race sidamoensis antagonistic and courtship displays by males appear similar, involving behaviour typical of many larks, with crest raised, head high but bill horizontal or down-pointed, wings shivering and one nearer the other bird half-opened, with rapid bobbing of the body. Nest of nominate built from fibrous brown grass woven deep into base of a sheltering grass tuft; described as funnel-shaped, presumably an elongate, completely domed cup like that of H. ruddi; a nest of race sidamoensis found in Jun 2007 contained three fresh eggs, while two other Jun nests held two and three nestlings, respectively, one in early Nov had two eggs, and one in late Nov three nestlings—three of these were constructed within screening vegetation to varying degrees and one was in a hollow in open grassland, but none had the dome more usually associated with Heteromirafra and Mirafra, suggesting that local conditions were suboptimal as a result of overgrazing; the Jun 2007 nest, under a small Solanum tettense shrub, was constructed entirely of fine dry grass and unlined, with a weak partial canopy of pulled-down stems; eggs off-white with fairly dense but fine flecking in various shades of dark brown and occasionally grey, most heavily concentrated at larger end, size 20·8–21·5 mm × 15·2–15·4 mm (n = 3) (3 Collar, N.J., Abebe, Y.D., Fishpool, L.D.C., Gabremichael, M.C., Spottiswoode, C.N. and Wondafrash, M. (2008). Type locality, habitat, behaviour, voice, nest, eggs and plight of the Sidamo Lark Heteromirafra sidamoensis. Bulletin of the African Bird Club. 15(2): 180–190. Close ). Nothing known about parental duties or incubation and fledging periods. Fledgling recorded in early Jan. No further information.

CRITICALLY ENDANGERED. In 2013 H. sidamoensis was shown to be conspecific with H. archeri (2 Spottiswoode, C.N., Olsson, U., Mills, M.S.L., Cohen, C., Francis, J.E., Toye, N., Hoddinott, D., Dagne, A., Wood, C., Donald, P.F., Collar, N.J. and Alström, P. (2013). Rediscovery of a long-lost lark reveals the conspecificity of endangered Heteromirafra populations in the Horn of Africa. J. Orn. 154(3): 813–825. Close ). Both populations were considered Critically Endangered and, despite the combined range and numbers, its conservation status remains the same. Extremely small range; known from only two small areas. Originally discovered in 1918–1922 in 200 km² of open grassland between Jifa and Ban Wujaleh on the Tog Wajaale Plain in NW Somalia; subsequently found 100 km NW of there, at locality N of Buramo, but this record has been dismissed on the basis of atypical habitat and lack of supporting information (5 Mills, M.S.L., Cohen, C. and Spottiswoode, C.N. (2014). A survey for the Critically Endangered Liben Lark Heteromirafra archeri in Somaliland, north-western Somalia. Report from a BOU-­‐funded Project. 9 pp. Close ). Last seen in this region in 1955; more recent surveys comprising over 15 visits in 1970s, 1990s and 2000s failed to locate it at either site (5 Mills, M.S.L., Cohen, C. and Spottiswoode, C.N. (2014). A survey for the Critically Endangered Liben Lark Heteromirafra archeri in Somaliland, north-western Somalia. Report from a BOU-­‐funded Project. 9 pp. Close ); severe land-use change at its Somalian type locality means that it probably no longer occurs there (5 Mills, M.S.L., Cohen, C. and Spottiswoode, C.N. (2014). A survey for the Critically Endangered Liben Lark Heteromirafra archeri in Somaliland, north-western Somalia. Report from a BOU-­‐funded Project. 9 pp. Close , 2 Spottiswoode, C.N., Olsson, U., Mills, M.S.L., Cohen, C., Francis, J.E., Toye, N., Hoddinott, D., Dagne, A., Wood, C., Donald, P.F., Collar, N.J. and Alström, P. (2013). Rediscovery of a long-lost lark reveals the conspecificity of endangered Heteromirafra populations in the Horn of Africa. J. Orn. 154(3): 813–825. Close ). However, in 2004 it was found at Jijiga, just inside NE Ethiopia. Race sidamoensis described from two specimens collected in May 1968 and April 1974 on NW fringe of the Liben Plain (3 Collar, N.J., Abebe, Y.D., Fishpool, L.D.C., Gabremichael, M.C., Spottiswoode, C.N. and Wondafrash, M. (2008). Type locality, habitat, behaviour, voice, nest, eggs and plight of the Sidamo Lark Heteromirafra sidamoensis. Bulletin of the African Bird Club. 15(2): 180–190. Close ) in the former Sidamo province, S Ethiopia. In 2007–2008 available habitat on Liben Plain covered less than 35 km², while density estimates provided a subpopulation estimate of 90–256 adults (4 Spottiswoode, C.N., Wondafrash, M., Gabremichael, M.N., Abebe, Y.D. , Mwangi, M.A.K., Collar, N.J. and Dolman, P.M. (2009). Rangeland degradation is poised to cause Africa’s first recorded avian extinction. Animal Conservation. 12(3): 249–257. Close ). In May 2009 a significant habitat deterioration (decline in grass cover and height) was recorded, as well as a 40% decline in number of birds along repeated transects, and a contraction of 38% in the occupied area (6 Donald, P.F., Buchanan, G.M., Collar, N.J., Abebe, Y.D., Gabremichael, M.N., Mwangi, A.K., Ndang’ang’a, P.K., Spottiswoode, C.N. and Wondafrash, M. (2010). Rapid declines in habitat quality and population size of the Liben (Sidamo) Lark Heteromirafra sidamoensis necessitate immediate conservation action. Bird Conservation International. 20(1): 1–12. Close ). Both the populations on the Liben Plain and at Jijiga are thought to be declining rapidly BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Heteromirafra archeri. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 02/12/2015. , and that in the former area at least may now be heavily skewed towards males, as a result of the available habitat been increasingly unsuitable for nesting, potentially leading to greater predation risks for incubating or brooding females (7 Collar, N.J. and Donald, P.F. (2018). Notes on breeding activity, nesting habitat and sex ratio in the Liben Lark Heteromirafra archeri. Bull. Afr. Bird Club 25(1): 45–53. Close ). Global population estimated at fewer than 250 mature individuals. Remaining grassland habitat is severely affected by ploughing and conversion to agriculture, over-grazing and by scrub encroachment encouraged by fire-suppression BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Heteromirafra archeri. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 02/12/2015. . Possibly more widespread than the few records suggest, as it is easily overlooked. There are no protected areas within its range, and the grassland site near Jifa has been settled by refugees. Main conservation targets are to create protected areas, restore habitats and work with local communities to achieve a grassland management regime favourable to the survival of the species.