Eurasian Skylark - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Rob

Alauda arvensis

Identification

18cm.

• Brown above with streaked back
• Buff, dark streaked breast
• Streaked crown
• White belly and undertail coverts
• White supercilium
• White outer tail feathers
• Thin bill
• Pink legs

Similar Species

For differences between Eurasian Skylark and Meadow Pipit see this thread in Tips for New Birders Forum

Distribution

Breeds across most of Europe and Asia and in the mountains of North Africa. It is mainly resident in the west of its range, but eastern populations are more migratory, moving further south in winter. Even in the milder west of its range, many birds move to lowlands and the coast in winter. Asian birds appear as vagrants in Alaska; this bird has also been introduced in Hawaii and near Vancouver, Washington.

Taxonomy

There are 13 subspecies.

Subspecies^[1]

European Group

• A. a. arvensis:

• Azores; Europe from Wales to Norway, Ural Mountains and Alps

• A. a. scotica:

• Ireland, north-western England, Scotland and Faeroe Islands

• A. a. guillelmi:

• Northern Portugal and north-western Spain

• A. a. sierrae:

• Central and southern Portugal to southern Spain

• A. a. harterti:

• Mountains of north-western Africa

• A. a. cantarella:

• Southern Europe to Balkans, Crimea and Iran; >Northern Africa

• A. a. armenica:

• Transcaucasia and eastern Turkey to south-western Iran (Zagros and Elburz mts.)
  

Asian Group

• A. a. dulcivox:

• South-eastern Russia to Yenisey basin and Afghanistan; >north-western India

• A. a. kiborti:

• Southern Siberia to northern Mongolia, Manchuria and Korea; >eastern China

• A. a. intermedia:

• South-eastern Siberia to lower Amur River and north-eastern Manchuria; >eastern China

• A. a. pekinensis:

• North-eastern Siberia to Sea of Okhotsk, Kamchatka Pen. and Kuril Islands

• A. a. lonnbergi:

• Shantar and Sakhalin islands (Sea of Okhotsk); >Japan

• A. a. japonica:

• Major islands in Japanese Archipelago; >Ryukyu Islands

Habitat

Dense rainforests.

Behaviour

Diet

The diet includes seeds and insects.

Breeding

3-4 eggs are laid and incubated for 11-12 days; the young fledge 9-10 days later. There can be 2 broods.

Vocalisation

Song: is delivered from high in the sky. <flashmp3>Alauda arvensis (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program

References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.

1. mbr-pwrc.usgs
2. eNature

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Eurasian Skylark. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 4 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Eurasian_Skylark

External Links

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