Family Larks (Alaudidae)
Least Concern
Somali Short-toed Lark (Alaudala somalica)
Taxonomy
French: Alouette roussâtre German: Halsfleckenlerche Spanish: Terrera somalí
Taxonomy:
Alaudula somalica
Sharpe
, 1895,Haud, north Somalia
.
Subspecies and Distribution
A. s. perconfusa
(C. M. N. White, 1960) – NE Ethiopia and NW Somalia.
A. s. somalica
Sharpe, 1895 – Somali Short-toed Lark – E Ethiopia and N Somalia.
A. s. megaensis
(Benson, 1946) – S Ethiopia and N & C Kenya.
A. s. athensis
(Sharpe, 1900) – Athi Short-toed Lark – S Kenya (S from Nairobi National Park and Athi Plains) and N Tanzania.
Descriptive notes
13–14 cm. Heavily streaked, medium-small lark with prominent buffy supercilium, pale lores and crescent under eye, giving “spectacled” appearance,... read more
Voice
Song, usually in high flight, also from ground, a protracted series of trills and whistles with... read more
Habitat
Dry open grassland, at 600–1600 m in Somalia and 1200–1800 m in Kenya and N Tanzania;... read more
Food and feeding
Diet unknown. Forages on the ground, often in large flocks outside breeding season.
Breeding
Jun in Somalia and Apr–Jun in Kenya and Tanzania. Monogamous; nests singly. Male advertises and defends territory by means of aerial... read more
Movements
Resident; locally nomadic, moving short distances to follow rain events.
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened. Common to locally common; often in large flocks when not breeding, although no details on exact numbers. Range of athensis has contracted in... read more
Closely related to A. rufescens, with which previously treated as conspecific, and also to A. raytal. Distinctive race athensis sometimes considered a separate species, but differs basically in its reduction of rufous tones in plumage, appearing darker and more contrasting; research needed on voice. Proposed race vulpecula (N Somalia) included in nominate. Birds recorded in C Kenya of uncertain racial identity, tentatively included in megaensis. Four subspecies recognized.