Eurasian skylark
| Eurasian skylark | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| With caterpillar caught in beak | |
| Song of Eurasian skylark | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Alaudidae |
| Genus: | Alauda |
| Species: | A. arvensis |
| Binomial name | |
|
Alauda arvensis Linnaeus, 1758 |
|
| Subspecies | |
|
see text |
|
see text
The Eurasian skylark (Alauda arvensis) is a small passerine bird species. It is a wide-spread species found across Europe and Asia with introduced populations in many other parts of the world. The genus name is from the Latin alauda, "lark". Pliny thought the word was originally of Celtic origin. The specific arvensis is also Latin, and means "of the field".
Formerly, many authorities considered the Japanese skylark as a separate species. It is now usually considered a subspecies of the Eurasian skylark. Alternate names for the Eurasian skylark include common skylark, Eurasian lark, European skylark, Northern skylark and skylark.
Eleven subspecies are recognized:
The Eurasian skylark is 16 to 18 centimetres long. It is a bird of open farmland and heath, known throughout its range for the song of the male, which is delivered in hovering flight from heights of 50 to 100 m, when the singing bird may appear as just a dot in the sky from the ground. The long, unbroken song is a clear, bubbling warble delivered high in the air while the bird is rising, circling or hovering. The song generally lasts two to three minutes, but it tends to last longer later in the mating season, when songs can last for 20 minutes or more. The male has broader wings than the female. This adaptation for more efficient hovering flight may have evolved because of female Eurasian skylarks' preference for males that sing and hover for longer periods and so demonstrate that they are likely to have good overall fitness.
Like most other larks, the Eurasian skylark is a rather dull-looking species on the ground, being mainly brown above and paler below. It has a short blunt crest on the head, which can be raised and lowered. In flight it shows a short tail and short broad wings. The tail and the rear edge of the wings are edged with white, which are visible when the bird is flying away, but not if it is heading towards the observer. The Eurasian skylark has sturdy legs and spends much time on the ground foraging for seeds, supplemented with insects in the breeding season.
This lark 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, Canada, the continental United States, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, the Falkland Islands, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
...
Wikipedia