Family Larks (Alaudidae)
Least Concern
White-tailed Lark (Mirafra albicauda)
Taxonomy
French: Alouette à queue blanche German: Weißschwanzlerche Spanish: Alondra coliblanca
Taxonomy:
Mirafra albicauda
Reichenow
, 1891,Gonda, Tabora District, Tanzania
.Distribution:
Locally in Chad (L Chad), E Sudan, N South Sudan, SC Ethiopia, NE DRCongo, Uganda, NW & SW Kenya and N & SW Tanzania.
Descriptive notes
13 cm; 20–25 g. Small, compact lark with shortish, stout bill. Has prominent pale lores and supercilium, contrasting with brownish ear-coverts, latter separated from... read more
Voice
Male display song a long, rambling series of chirps and whistles, less varied than that of M.... read more
Habitat
Prefers dense, fairly short grassland, usually on black-cotton soils; often found around lake... read more
Food and feeding
Food includes insects, e.g. grasshoppers (Acrididae), also seeds and other vegetable matter. Forages terrestrially, picking food from... read more
Breeding
Recorded Mar–May. Male sings in protracted aerial display, circling over territory and then dropping steeply to ground. Nest a... read more
Movements
Little known. Probably resident.
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Generally uncommon; locally common in parts of E Africa. Often hard to observe on ground and, except when displaying, is easily... read more
See M. passerina. Apparently isolated population in SW Tanzania previously separated as race rukwensis. Monotypic.