Alaudidaelarks

Di­ver­sity

Larks be­long to the order Passer­i­formes, sub-or­der Passeri and fam­ily Alau­di­dae. Cur­rently there are 17 rec­og­nized lark gen­era and 91 species.

Larks are small to medium-sized birds (11 to 19 cm in length) that re­side in open coun­try­side from desert to alpine tun­dra. They vary in color from light tan to red­dish and tend to blend in well with the soil and veg­e­ta­tion in their cho­sen habi­tat.

Larks (par­tic­u­larly sky larks (Alauda ar­ven­sis)) have pro­vided in­spi­ra­tion for many poets with their com­plex and beau­ti­ful songs. They are pri­mar­ily Old World in­hab­i­tants. Horned larks (Er­e­mophila alpestris) are the only na­tive lark species in North Amer­ica. (Dean, et al., 1992; Payne, 2003; ; Simms, 1992; Trost, 2001)

Ge­o­graphic Range

Larks pri­mar­ily live in the Old World. Fifty-seven per­cent of lark species are found in Africa, 19 per­cent in Africa and Eura­sia, 16 per­cent in Asia, 6 per­cent in Eura­sia and 1 per­cent in the New World. Horned larks (Er­e­mophila alpestris) are the only lark species na­tive to North Amer­ica. Sky­larks (Alauda ar­ven­sis) were in­tro­duced to Van­cou­ver Is­land in British Co­lum­bia, Canada and can still be found there, and oc­ca­sion­ally in Wash­ing­ton state. Sky­larks were also in­tro­duced to Aus­tralia and New Zealand. (Camp­bell and Lack, 1985; Camp­bell, et al., 1997; Dean, et al., 1992; Simms, 1992)

Habi­tat

Larks in­habit open coun­try­side in both tem­per­ate and trop­i­cal re­gions. Their habi­tat in­cludes: shrub­land, sa­vana, desert, tun­dra, grass­land and farm­land. Larks can be found in habi­tats from coastal areas at sea level to moun­tain­ous areas at an el­e­va­tion of 4000 m. (Camp­bell and Lack, 1985; Camp­bell, et al., 1997; Dean, et al., 1992; Mead, 1985; Simms, 1992)

Phys­i­cal De­scrip­tion

Larks are small- to medium-sized birds (11 to 19 cm long, 15 to 75 g) with fairly long legs, wings and tail. Most have long straight claws on their hind toes. The length of the claw de­pends on the bird’s habi­tat; longer claws are found on birds that live in areas with soft ground and some veg­e­ta­tion, shorter claws and toes are found on species that live in areas with harder ground. Their brown plumage (rang­ing from light tan to red­dish) is often cryp­tic and matches the soil color. Some species have crests or tufts of feath­ers on their head. Sexes re­sem­ble each other, but males are usu­ally larger and may have brighter, more dis­tinct color and mark­ing than fe­males. Bill shape and length varies be­tween species and can be a good in­di­ca­tion of feed­ing ecol­ogy. Razo larks (Alauda razae) show sex­ual di­mor­phism in bill length. The male’s bill is 20 per­cent longer than the fe­male’s, which sug­gests that males and fe­males ex­ploit dif­fer­ent food sources. Larks molt once or twice per year de­pend­ing on the species. Ju­ve­niles have less dis­tinct col­or­ing and pat­terns than adult birds. (Camp­bell and Lack, 1985; Dean, et al., 1992; Mead, 1985; Simms, 1992)

  • Sexual Dimorphism
  • male larger
  • sexes colored or patterned differently
  • male more colorful

Re­pro­duc­tion

Al­though there have been some ob­ser­va­tions of polyg­yny, larks are largely monog­a­mous. Fe­males do the ma­jor­ity of the nest build­ing, in­cu­ba­tion and brood­ing, and both adults take part in feed­ing the young. Males per­form dis­play flights (high un­du­lat­ing flight ac­com­pa­nied by singing), and will also dis­play with crests, ruf­fle their plumage, and bow or hop up and down on the ground. Courtship feed­ing oc­curs in some species. Males sing from promi­nent perches; some fe­male larks may also sing dur­ing pair for­ma­tion. Larks are ter­ri­to­r­ial and de­fend the nest site using song and flight dis­plays.

Co­op­er­a­tive breed­ing has been ob­served in one species. The ob­served group con­sisted of the breed­ing pair and a sin­gle helper. (Camp­bell and Lack, 1985; Camp­bell, et al., 1997; Dean, et al., 1992; Mead, 1985; Simms, 1992)

Larks are sea­sonal breed­ers, usu­ally breed­ing dur­ing the sea­son of high­est in­sect and seed abun­dance. Larks liv­ing in areas with long breed­ing sea­sons can have two or three clutches, while those in areas with a short win­dow of time for breed­ing will have only one. Larks are soli­tary breed­ers and will de­fend nest­ing ter­ri­to­ries.

Most larks are ground nesters and build open-cup nests in small, ex­ca­vated hol­lows in the ground. Some species build domed nests and a few build nests in shrubs to allow for in­creased air cir­cu­la­tion and cool­ing. Nests built on the ground are sit­u­ated next to small clumps of veg­e­ta­tion, rocks, or mounds of earth for pro­tec­tion and shade from the sun and pre­vail­ing wind. Nests are made of grass, plant fibers, forbs, bark, dead leaves and sedges, and are some­times lined with plant down or feath­ers. Eggs are smooth, white or light blue with gray or olive-brown spots and range in size from 19 to 23 by 13 to 17 mm. Clutch size is usu­ally 3 to 5, but can be as low as one and as high as eight. The egg-lay­ing in­ter­val is every other day. Fe­males usu­ally do all of the in­cu­ba­tion and brood­ing, al­though males in some species will help. In­cu­ba­tion lasts 10 to 16 days; chicks hatch syn­chro­nously and are brooded for about 4 days de­pend­ing on the weather. Young larks are al­tri­cial and are fed by both adults. Chicks are fed in­sects (and some­time seeds) and leave the nest after about 10 days. Chicks usu­ally fledge be­fore they can fly and con­tinue to be fed by their par­ents for 18 to 20 days.

As is com­mon among ground nest­ing species, most nest fail­ure is due to depre­da­tion. Nest suc­cess is usu­ally 30 to 60 per­cent, but can be as low as 10 per­cent. (Ali and Rip­ley, 1972; Camp­bell and Lack, 1985; Camp­bell, et al., 1997; Dean, et al., 1992; Mead, 1985; Simms, 1992)

Fe­male larks do most of the in­cu­bat­ing and brood­ing of chicks (males help in some species). In­cu­ba­tion lasts 10 to 16 days and the al­tri­cial chicks are brooded for about 4 days after hatch­ing. Chicks are fed in­sects and oc­ca­sion­ally seeds by both par­ents. Adults re­move fecal sacks from the nests. Nestlings usu­ally fledge be­fore they can fly and con­tinue to re­ceive parental care for 18 to 20 days.

If a preda­tor ap­proaches an ac­tive nest, the adults will give alarm calls and often feign in­jury to draw the preda­tor away. Be­cause many larks nest in open desert areas, chicks are often ex­posed to sun and heat. Adult birds will stand next to the nest to shade it dur­ing the hottest parts of the day. (Camp­bell and Lack, 1985; Camp­bell, et al., 1997; Dean, et al., 1992; Mead, 1985; Simms, 1992)

Lifes­pan/Longevity

Like most small birds, larks prob­a­bly live on av­er­age only two to five years. The longest liv­ing known in­di­vid­u­als are an 8 year, 5 month old sky­lark (Alauda ar­ven­sis) and a 7 year 11 month old horned lark (Er­e­mophila alpestris). Av­er­age an­nual mor­tal­ity for sky­larks is 33 per­cent. (Camp­bell and Lack, 1985; Gill, 1995; ; Trost, 2001)

Be­hav­ior

Most larks are soli­tary, al­though some will flock in agri­cul­tural fields to feed and oth­ers flock after the breed­ing sea­son prior to mi­grat­ing. Some larks are seden­tary, oth­ers are no­madic, mov­ing in re­sponse to rain­fall and food avail­abil­ity and oth­ers (par­tic­u­larly North­ern Tem­per­ate species) are long-dis­tance mi­grants. Larks are usu­ally found in low den­si­ties, but are found closer to­gether in high qual­ity habi­tat.

Larks run rather than hop along the ground and rarely perch on shrubs and trees, ex­cept oc­ca­sion­ally to sing. Many clean by dust­ing, al­though some bath in water. De­pend­ing on the species, they molt once or twice a year. Larks that live in desert areas will stand in the shade of grass tus­socks dur­ing the hottest parts of the day.

Larks are ter­ri­to­r­ial and de­fend their ter­ri­to­ries through song and flight dis­plays. Some species will also raise their feather crests dur­ing a dis­play. (Camp­bell and Lack, 1985; Camp­bell, et al., 1997; Dean, et al., 1992; Gill, 1995; Mead, 1985; ; Simms, 1992)

Com­mu­ni­ca­tion and Per­cep­tion

Lark flight, feed­ing, threat and dis­play calls are quite sim­ple, how­ever, their ter­ri­to­r­ial song is very elab­o­rate. In ad­di­tion to com­mu­ni­cat­ing through song, larks will raise the crest of feath­ers in their head dur­ing ag­o­nis­tic and courtship dis­plays.

Larks can lo­cate buried in­sects by ear while for­ag­ing. (Mead, 1985; Simms, 1992)

Food Habits

Larks are om­niv­o­rous and for­age on the ground. They eat many species of in­sects in ad­di­tion to seeds, grasses, leaves, buds, fruits and flow­ers (es­pe­cially dur­ing the win­ter when in­sects are less avail­able). Some species will also eat snails (Gas­tropoda), which they break open on rocks. Larks' in­sect prey are di­verse and in­clude: Ephemeroptera (mayflies), Diptera (true flies), Hemiptera (true bugs), Coleoptera (bee­tles), Collem­bola (spring­tails), Or­thoptera (grasshop­pers), Lep­i­doptera (adult and lar­val moths) and Isoptera (ter­mites). Sky­larks (Alauda ar­ven­sis) in Eng­land feed on at least 47 species of in­sect. Desert species ac­quire water from their food and dew.

The shape of a Lark’s bill is adapted to its diet and feed­ing tech­nique. For ex­am­ple, hoopoe larks (Alae­mon) have long de­curved bills that are used for dig­ging for in­sect lar­vae, while ca­lan­dra larks (Melanoco­rypha) have strong, stout bills that are used for eat­ing seeds. Some can also lo­cate buried in­sects by ear. (Camp­bell and Lack, 1985; Dean, et al., 1992; Mead, 1985; Simms, 1992)

Pre­da­tion

Adult larks have nu­mer­ous avian preda­tors: fal­cons (Fal­coni­formes), owls (St­rigi­formes) and shrikes (Lani­idae). Adults, chicks and eggs are also taken by mam­mals. Com­mon mam­malian preda­tors in­clude: weasels (Mustelinae), skunks (Mephiti­nae), squir­rels (Sciruidae), rac­coons (Pro­cyon lotor) and house cats (Felis do­mes­ti­cus). Ad­di­tional nest preda­tors in­clude: voles and mice (Ro­den­tia), shrews (Sorex), crows (Corvi­dae) and west­ern mead­owlarks (Stur­nella ne­glecta). Up to 90 per­cent of lark nests may be lost to preda­tors.

In re­sponse to nest preda­tors, in­cu­bat­ing fe­males will flush silently when the preda­tor is far from the nest; if the preda­tor is close to the nest she will feign in­jury to draw it away. Young larks leave the nest early, this is thought to de­crease pre­da­tion and/or de­crease the chance that an en­tire clutch is lost si­mul­ta­ne­ously.

Larks’ cryp­tic plumage al­lows them to blend in with the ground and makes it more dif­fi­cult for preda­tors to spot them; they will often avoid using patches of ground that do not match their col­oration. For­ag­ing in flocks is also thought to be an adap­ta­tion to re­duce pre­da­tion. (Bea­son, 1995; Camp­bell and Lack, 1985; Dean, et al., 1992; Mead, 1985; Simms, 1992)

  • Anti-predator Adaptations
  • cryptic

Ecosys­tem Roles

As in­sec­ti­vores, larks af­fect in­sect pop­u­la­tions through­out their range.

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Pos­i­tive

Larks can be im­por­tant agents in the con­trol of agri­cul­tural pests. For ex­am­ple, an adult sky­lark (Alauda ar­ven­sis) was found with 48 wee­vils (Sitona lin­ea­tus) in its stom­ach. This par­tic­u­lar species of wee­vil is a pest on peas. (Simms, 1992)

  • Positive Impacts
  • controls pest population

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Neg­a­tive

Be­cause they oc­ca­sion­ally feed in flocks in agri­cul­tural fields, larks are rec­og­nized as agri­cul­tural pests. In the United States they will dam­age crops of beets, broc­coli, car­rots, let­tuce, peas, spinach, toma­toes, al­falfa, grain, sugar beets, can­taloupe and wa­ter­melon. (Clark and Hygn­strom, 1994)

  • Negative Impacts
  • crop pest

Con­ser­va­tion Sta­tus

The IUCN lists two species of larks as crit­i­cally en­dan­gered, two species as en­dan­gered and four as vul­ner­a­ble. North Amer­i­can species are pro­tected under the Mi­gra­tory Bird Treaty Act. No larks are listed by CITES or ESA.

De­clin­ing num­bers are the re­sult of habi­tat loss, degra­da­tion and frag­men­ta­tion, poi­son­ing from chem­i­cals used on crops and in­tro­duced species (es­pe­cially those that are nest preda­tors). Some species may stand to ben­e­fit from the clear­ing of forested areas to cre­ate pas­tures and arable land. ("UNEP-WCMC Species Data­base: CITES-Listed Species", 2003; Camp­bell, et al., 1997; IUCN, 2002; Mead, 1985; Simms, 1992; Threat­ened and En­dan­gered Species Sys­tem, 2003; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser­vice, date un­known)

  • IUCN Red List [Link]
    Not Evaluated

Con­trib­u­tors

Alaine Cam­field (au­thor), An­i­mal Di­ver­sity Web.

Kari Kirschbaum (ed­i­tor), An­i­mal Di­ver­sity Web.

Glossary

Australian

Living in Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, New Guinea and associated islands.

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Ethiopian

living in sub-Saharan Africa (south of 30 degrees north) and Madagascar.

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Nearctic

living in the Nearctic biogeographic province, the northern part of the New World. This includes Greenland, the Canadian Arctic islands, and all of the North American as far south as the highlands of central Mexico.

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Neotropical

living in the southern part of the New World. In other words, Central and South America.

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Palearctic

living in the northern part of the Old World. In otherwords, Europe and Asia and northern Africa.

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acoustic

uses sound to communicate

agricultural

living in landscapes dominated by human agriculture.

altricial

young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.

bilateral symmetry

having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.

carnivore

an animal that mainly eats meat

chemical

uses smells or other chemicals to communicate

cooperative breeder

helpers provide assistance in raising young that are not their own

cosmopolitan

having a worldwide distribution. Found on all continents (except maybe Antarctica) and in all biogeographic provinces; or in all the major oceans (Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific.

cryptic

having markings, coloration, shapes, or other features that cause an animal to be camouflaged in its natural environment; being difficult to see or otherwise detect.

desert or dunes

in deserts low (less than 30 cm per year) and unpredictable rainfall results in landscapes dominated by plants and animals adapted to aridity. Vegetation is typically sparse, though spectacular blooms may occur following rain. Deserts can be cold or warm and daily temperates typically fluctuate. In dune areas vegetation is also sparse and conditions are dry. This is because sand does not hold water well so little is available to plants. In dunes near seas and oceans this is compounded by the influence of salt in the air and soil. Salt limits the ability of plants to take up water through their roots.

diurnal
  1. active during the day, 2. lasting for one day.
endothermic

animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.

female parental care

parental care is carried out by females

fertilization

union of egg and spermatozoan

folivore

an animal that mainly eats leaves.

frugivore

an animal that mainly eats fruit

granivore

an animal that mainly eats seeds

herbivore

An animal that eats mainly plants or parts of plants.

holarctic

a distribution that more or less circles the Arctic, so occurring in both the Nearctic and Palearctic biogeographic regions.

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Found in northern North America and northern Europe or Asia.

insectivore

An animal that eats mainly insects or spiders.

internal fertilization

fertilization takes place within the female's body

introduced

referring to animal species that have been transported to and established populations in regions outside of their natural range, usually through human action.

iteroparous

offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).

male parental care

parental care is carried out by males

migratory

makes seasonal movements between breeding and wintering grounds

molluscivore

eats mollusks, members of Phylum Mollusca

monogamous

Having one mate at a time.

motile

having the capacity to move from one place to another.

mountains

This terrestrial biome includes summits of high mountains, either without vegetation or covered by low, tundra-like vegetation.

native range

the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.

nomadic

generally wanders from place to place, usually within a well-defined range.

omnivore

an animal that mainly eats all kinds of things, including plants and animals

oriental

found in the oriental region of the world. In other words, India and southeast Asia.

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oviparous

reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.

polygynous

having more than one female as a mate at one time

seasonal breeding

breeding is confined to a particular season

sedentary

remains in the same area

sexual

reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female

social

associates with others of its species; forms social groups.

solitary

lives alone

tactile

uses touch to communicate

temperate

that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).

terrestrial

Living on the ground.

territorial

defends an area within the home range, occupied by a single animals or group of animals of the same species and held through overt defense, display, or advertisement

tropical

the region of the earth that surrounds the equator, from 23.5 degrees north to 23.5 degrees south.

tropical savanna and grassland

A terrestrial biome. Savannas are grasslands with scattered individual trees that do not form a closed canopy. Extensive savannas are found in parts of subtropical and tropical Africa and South America, and in Australia.

savanna

A grassland with scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees, a type of community intermediate between grassland and forest. See also Tropical savanna and grassland biome.

temperate grassland

A terrestrial biome found in temperate latitudes (>23.5° N or S latitude). Vegetation is made up mostly of grasses, the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available. Fire and grazing are important in the long-term maintenance of grasslands.

tundra

A terrestrial biome with low, shrubby or mat-like vegetation found at extremely high latitudes or elevations, near the limit of plant growth. Soils usually subject to permafrost. Plant diversity is typically low and the growing season is short.

visual

uses sight to communicate

Ref­er­ences

2003. "UNEP-WCMC Species Data­base: CITES-Listed Species" (On-line). Ac­cessed No­vem­ber 14, 2003 at http://​www.​cites.​org/​eng/​resources/​species.​html.

Ali, S., S. Rip­ley. 1972. Hand­book of the Birds of In­dian and Pak­istan, Vol­ume 5. Lon­don: Ox­ford Uni­ver­sity Press.

Bea­son, R. 1995. Horned Lark (Er­e­mophila alpestris). A Poole, F Gill, eds. The Birds of North Amer­ica, Vol. 195. The Acad­emy of Nat­ural Sci­ences, Philadel­phia, and The Amer­i­can Or­nithol­o­gist's Union, Wash­ing­ton, D.C.

Camp­bell, B., E. Lack. 1985. A Dic­tio­nary of Birds. Ver­mil­lion: Buteo Books.

Camp­bell, R., N. Dawe, I. Mc­Tag­gart-Cowan, J. Cooper, G. Kaiser, M. Mc­Nall, G. Smith. 1997. The Birds of British Co­lum­bia, Vol­ume 3, Passer­ines, Fly­catch­ers through Vireos. Van­cou­ver: UBC Press.

Clark, J., S. Hygn­strom. 1994. "Horned Larks" (On-line). Pre­ven­tion and Con­trol of Wildlife Dam­age. Ac­cessed Oc­to­ber 29, 2003 at http://​wildlifedamage.​unl.​edu/​handbook/​handbook/​allPDF/​bird_​e63.​pdf.

Dean, W., C. Fry, S. Keith, P. Lack. 1992. Fam­ily Alau­di­dae: Larks. Pp. 13-124 in S Keith, E Urban, C Fry, eds. The Birds of Africa, Vol. IV. Lon­don: Aca­d­e­mic Press.

Gill, F. 1995. Or­nithol­ogy, Sec­ond Edi­tion. New York: W.H. Free­man and Com­pany.

IUCN, 2002. "The IUCN Red List of Threat­ened Species" (On-line). Ac­cessed Oc­to­ber 29, 2003 at http://​www.​redlist.​org/​.

Mead, C. 1985. Larks, Wag­tails and Pip­its. Pp. 336-338 in C Per­rins, A Mid­dle­ton, eds. The En­cy­clo­pe­dia of Birds. New York: Facts on File Pub­li­ca­tions.

Payne, R. 2003. "Bird Fam­i­lies of the World" (On-line). Ac­cessed Oc­to­ber 27, 2003 at http://​www.​ummz.​lsa.​umich.​edu/​birds/​Bird_​Families_​of_​the_​World.​html.

Sib­ley, C., J. Ahlquist. 1990. Phy­logeny and Clas­si­fi­ca­tion of Birds, A study in Mol­e­c­u­lar Evo­lu­tion. New Haven: Yale Uni­ver­sity Press.

Simms, E. 1992. British Larks, Pip­its & Wag­tails. Lon­don: Harper Collins Pub­lish­ers.

Threat­ened and En­dan­gered Species Sys­tem, 2003. "U.S. Listed Ver­te­brate An­i­mal Species Re­port by Taox­o­nomic Group" (On-line). Ac­cessed No­vem­ber 14, 2003 at http://​ecos.​fws.​gov/​tess_​public/​TESSWebpageVipListed?​code=V&​listings=0#​B.

Trost, C. 2001. Larks. Pp. 416-418 in C El­ph­ick, J Dun­ning, D Sib­ley, eds. The Sib­ley Guide to Bird Life and Be­hav­ior. New York: Al­fred A. Knopf.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser­vice, date un­known. "Birds Pro­tected by the Mi­gra­tory Bird Treaty Act" (On-line). Ac­cessed No­vem­ber 14, 2003 at http://​migratorybirds.​fws.​gov/​intrnltr/​mbta/​mbtintro.​html.