Crested lark

Crested lark
At Sultanpur National Park, India
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Alaudidae
Genus: Galerida
Species: G. cristata
Binomial name
Galerida cristata
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Subspecies

See subspecies

Approximate range in green shown on a map of the world
Approximate range in green

The crested lark (Galerida cristata) is a species of lark distinguished from the other 81 species of lark by the crest of feathers that rise up in territorial or courtship displays and when singing. Common to mainland Europe, the birds can also be found in northern Africa and in parts of western Asia and China. It is a non-migratory bird, but can occasionally be found as a vagrant in Great Britain.

Taxonomy and systematics

The crested lark was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in his 18th-century work, Systema Naturae. He gave it the binomial name Alauda cristata. German naturalist Friedrich Boie placed it in the new genus Galerida in 1821, but did not define what characters distinguished in from larks in the genus Alauda. Colin Harrison recommended sinking members of Galerida and Lullula back into Alauda in 1865 due to lack of defining characters.[2] Alban Guillaumet and colleagues noted the distinctiveness of populations from the Maghreb - birds in the dryer parts of Morocco and Tunisia had longer bills while those in more coastal northern parts had shorter bills typical of the European subspecies. The authors sampled the mitochondrial DNA and found they were distinct genetically.[3] The Maghreb lark, comprising subspecies macrorhyncha and randonii, has been found to have diverged 1.9 million years ago and is regarded now by the IOC as a separate species.[4]

There are 37 known subspecies of crested lark:[5]

  • Galerida cristata cristata
  • Galerida cristata pallida
  • Galerida cristata neumanni
  • Galerida cristata apuliae
  • Galerida cristata tenuirostris
  • Galerida cristata meridionalis
  • Galerida cristata caucasica
  • Galerida cristata subtaurica
  • Galerida cristata cypriaca
  • Galerida cristata zion
  • Galerida cristata cinnamomina
  • Galerida cristata magna
  • Galerida cristata leautungensis
  • Galerida cristata coreensis
  • Galerida cristata iwanowi
  • Galerida cristata lynesi
  • Galerida cristata kleinschmidti
  • Galerida cristata riggenbachi
  • Galerida cristata carthaginis
  • Galerida cristata balsaci
  • Galerida cristata arenicola
  • Galerida cristata helenae
  • Galerida cristata festae
  • Galerida cristata brachyura
  • Galerida cristata nigricans
  • Galerida cristata maculata
  • Galerida cristata halfae
  • Galerida cristata senegallensis
  • Galerida cristata jordansi
  • Galerida cristata alexanderi
  • Galerida cristata isabellina
  • Galerida cristata altirostris
  • Galerida cristata somaliensis
  • Galerida cristata tardinata
  • Galerida cristata chendoola
  • Galerida cristata randoni
  • Galerida cristata macrorhyncha

Description

A fairly small lark, the crested lark is roughly the same size as a Eurasian skylark, but shorter overall and bulkier around the head and body, and very similar in appearance,[6] with a height of 17 cm (6.7 in) and a wingspan of 29 to 38 cm (11 to 15 in), weighing between 37 and 55 g (1.3 and 1.9 oz).[7] It is a small, brown bird which has a short tail with light brown outer feathers. Male and females have no real differences, but young crested larks have more spots on their back than their older counterparts.[6] Its plumage is downy but sparse and appears whitish. The distinct crest from which the crested lark gets its name is conspicuous at all times but is more pronounced during territorial or courtship displays and when singing.[8][9] In flight it shows reddish underwings. It shares many characteristics with the Thekla lark, with the main distinctions between the two being the Thekla's heavier black-brown streaks and its grey underwing, present in European specimens.[7]

Distribution and habitat

The crested lark breeds across most of temperate Eurasia from Portugal to north-east China and eastern India, and in Africa south to Niger. It is non-migratory, and the sedentary nature of this species is illustrated by the fact that it is only a very rare vagrant to Great Britain,[10] despite breeding as close as northern France.[11] While the bird is not commonly found in Scandinavia today, it could be found in Sweden until the 1990s, with sources reporting six individual birds in 1992 before becoming extinct in Sweden in 1993.[12] The birds have also gone extinct in several other European countries, including Norway (1972), Luxembourg (1973) and Switzerland (1980s).[7]

This is a common bird of dry, open country and is often seen by roadsides or in cereal fields, although it is also found occupying small, sandy patches by railways, docks and airfields.[11]

Behaviour

Video of singing bird

The crested lark is a songbird, and has a liquid, warbling song described onomatopoeically as a whee-whee-wheeoo[8] or a twee-tee-too.[6] It sings in flight from high in the sky, at roughly 30 to 60 m (98 to 197 ft) above the ground. The related skylark exhibits similar behaviour but also sings during its ascent, whereas the crested lark sings either at altitude or on the ground.[13] Their flight pattern is an example of undulatory locomotion.[8]

Breeding

Eggs of Galerida cristata MHNT

It nests in small depressions in the ground, often in wastelands and on the outskirts of towns. The nests are untidy structures composed primarily of dead grasses and roots.[6] Three to five brown, finely speckled eggs, similar to those of the skylark, are laid at a time and will hatch after 11–12 days.[13] As with most larks, the chicks leave the nest early, after about eight days and take flight after reaching 15–16 days old.[11] Two broods will usually be raised each year.

Food and feeding

Eating an insect

Largely vegetarian birds, the crested lark primarily feeds on grains and seeds, such as oats, wheat and barley,[8] but will also eat insects, particularly beetles,[6] with food either being scavenged from the ground or dug up.[14] Juvenile birds are fed by both parents, and generally leave the nest before they are able to fly to start foraging for food themselves.

Relationship to humans

Francis of Assisi considered the crested lark a bird of special significance, based on similarities he perceived between it and the life of the Friars Minor: its plain earth-coloured plumage and hood, its humility ("for it goes willingly along the wayside and finds a grain of corn for itself"), and its time spent in song.[15]

Status

The crested lark has been categorised by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as being of least concern, meaning that it is not currently threatened with extinction.[1] Estimates for the global population of mature individuals of the species range from 22,000,000 to 91,200,000.[16] Figures for Europe are less varied, with estimates putting the number of breeding pairs at between 3,600,000 and 7,600,000, or between 7,200,000 and 15,200,000 individuals. In Europe, trends since 1982 have shown an overall decline in the population of the species, resulting in the assumption that the crested lark is in decline globally.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 BirdLife International (2012). "Galerida cristata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. ↑ Harrison, C.J.O. (1966). "The Validity of Some Genera of Larks (Alaudidae)". Ibis 108 (4): 573–83. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1966.tb07209.x.
  3. ↑ Guillaumet, Alban; Pons, Jean-Marc; Godelle, Bernard; Crochet, Pierre-Andre (2006). "History of the Crested Lark in the Mediterranean region as revealed by mtDNA sequences and morphology". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 39 (3): 645–56. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.01.002.
  4. ↑ Gill, F & D Donsker (Eds.) (30 June 2013). "Waxwings to swallows". IOC World Bird List: Version 3.4. International Ornithologists’ Union. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  5. ↑ Clements, J.F.; Schulenberg, S.; Iliff, M.J.; Sullivan, B.L.; Wood, C.L.; Roberson, D. (2012). "The Clements Checklist". Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Černý, Walter (1975). A Field Guide in Colour to Birds. Translated by Margot Schierlová; Illustrated by Karel Drchal. London: Octopus Books Limited. pp. 156–157. ISBN 070640405X.
  7. 1 2 3 Snow, David; Perrins, Christopher M., eds. (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic concise edition 2. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 1037–1040. ISBN 0198501889.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Harbard, Chris (1989). Songbirds: How to attract them and identify their song. London: Kingfisher Books. p. 52. ISBN 0862724597.
  9. ↑ Burnie, David (2001). Animal: The Definitive Visual Guide to the World's Wildlife. London: Dorling Kindersley. p. 342. ISBN 9780789477644.
  10. ↑ "Thousands flock to see rare bird". BBC News. 2 May 2009. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  11. 1 2 3 Hayman, Peter; Hume, Rob. The complete guide to the bird life of Britain and Europe. 2004: Bounty Books. p. 185. ISBN 9781857327953.
  12. ↑ "European news". British Birds (British Birds Ltd) 88: 274. June 1995. ISSN 0007-0335.
  13. 1 2 Hayman, Peter; Burton, Philip (1979). "Crested Lark". The Birdlife of Britain (2nd ed.). London: Mitchell Beazley Publishers Limited. p. 80. ISBN 0855330872.
  14. ↑ Robinson, R.A. (16 January 2013). "Crested Lark Galerida cristata". BirdFacts. British Trust for Ornithology. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  15. ↑ Armstrong, Edward A. (1973). Saint Francis, Nature Mystic: The Derivation and Significance of the Nature Stories in the Franciscan Legend. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press. pp. 90–91. ISBN 0520019660.
  16. 1 2 "Species factsheet: Galerida cristata". Birdlife International. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
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