- Calandrella cinerea
Identification
14–15 cm (5½-6 in)
- Has a crest which is normally not obvious but is used as part of the courtship display.
- Red Crown and patch at side of breast
Distribution
Africa - North of 5 degrees South it is mainly confined to the highland areas of the East. Below 5 degrees South it is widespread.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 9 subspecies[1]:
- C. c. rufipecta:
- Central Nigeria (Jos Plateau)
- C. c. saturatior:
- C. c. williamsi:
- C. c. spleniata:
- C. c. fulvida:
- Southern Angola, southern Zambia and Zimbabwe
- C. c. alluvia:
- Coastal southern Mozambique; disperses inland to northern Botswana
- C. c. millardi:
- Southern Botswana
- C. c. cinerea:
- Southern Namibia and western South Africa
- C. c. niveni:
- Eastern South Africa
Habitat
Found mostly on bare ground in small flocks.
Behaviour
Diet
Their diet consists mostly of seeds from grass and sedges, insects, such as caterpillars and bugs and snails.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved Dec 2017)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Red-capped Lark. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 October 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Red-capped_Lark
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1