Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Lark - BirdForum Opus

Male left, Female right
Photo by volker sthamer
Awash, Ethiopia, August 2010

Eremopterix leucotis

Identification

Length 12-13 cm, mass 20-24 g
Adult male: Back and wings are chestnut, and the head is black with a large white ear patch and white nape patch.

Distribution

Savannas of sub-Saharan Africa
Western Africa: Mauritania, Senegambia, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea and Angola
Eastern Africa: Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique and Malawi
Southern Africa: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal and Lesotho

Taxonomy

Subspecies^[1]

There are five subspecies:

• E. l. melanocephalus

• Senegambia to central and southern Sudan

• E. l. leucotis

• South Sudan to Ethiopia, Eritrea, and northwestern Somalia

• E. l. madaraszi

• North-eastern Uganda to Kenya and northern Tanzania; northern Malawi and Mozambique

• E. l. smithi

• Zambia to southern Malawi, Zimbabwe, eastern Botswana and South Africa

• E. l. hoeschi

• Southern Angola to northern Namibia, north-eastern Botswana and western Zimbabwe

Habitat

Savanna with sparse grass cover, especially areas burnt recently; also cultivated lands.

Behaviour

Breeding

It is a ground nester. The lay a single egg.

Diet

The diet includes insects and seeds.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Hockey, PAR, WRJ Dean, and PG Ryan, eds. 2005. Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa. 7th ed. Cape Town: John Voelcker Bird Book Fund. ISBN 978-0620340533
3. Sinclair, I and P Ryan. 2003. Birds of Africa South of the Sahara. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0691118154

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Lark. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 28 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Chestnut-backed_Sparrow-Lark

External Links

Search for photos of Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Lark in the gallery