Pink-billed lark

Species of bird

The pink-billed lark (Spizocorys conirostris) is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found in southern Africa. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland. It is described as having a low breeding success rate.^[2]

Taxonomy and systematics

The pink-billed lark was originally classified within the genus Alauda. Some authorities have placed the pink-billed lark in the genus Calandrella.^[3]

Subspecies

Six subspecies are recognized:^[4]

• Damara pink-billed lark (S. c. damarensis) - Roberts, 1922: Alternately named Kenya short-toed lark (a name also used by the Athi short-toed lark). Found in north-western Namibia
• S. c. crypta - (Irwin, 1957): Found in north-eastern Botswana
• S. c. makawai - (Traylor, 1962): Found in western Zambia
• S. c. harti - (Benson, 1964): Found in south-western Zambia
• S. c. barlowi - Roberts, 1942: Found in southern Namibia, southern Botswana and north-western South Africa
• S. c. conirostris - (Sundevall, 1850): Found in south-eastern Botswana, northern, central and eastern South Africa

Vocalizations

Twelve types of vocalizations have been recorded.^[5]

• Nestling begging call: nestlings hiss or peep when they see a parent flying toward the nest.
• Nestling distress call: nestlings make a harsh pulsed call when in distress
• Nestling feeding call: parents make a soft chi-chi-chi sound when feeding nestlings
• Threat call: harsh and grating
• Appeasement calls: either chattering or metallic, made by parents during incubation
• Alarm call: pulsed, with a sharp rise then gradual fall in frequency. Mostly made while in flight.
• Attack call: series of tsks, made while chasing other pink-billed larks
• Cricket call: soft and rapid, often made while in flight
• Foraging calls: soft, with mixed sounds
• Flight call: high-pitched, possibly unique to each individual. Usually made while flying in flocks
• Flight song: made by males when performing aerial display. Rapid and pulsed.
  • The bird stays silent while steeply ascending, then begins singing. It then flies irregularly while singing its flight song, which usually lasts less than a minute. It sometimes then descends sharply. ^[5]

References

1. BirdLife International (2016). "Spizocorys conirostris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22717352A94528403. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22717352A94528403.en. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
2. Engelbrecht, G. Derek; Masotla, Makhudu J. (2021-04-28). "Breeding ecology of the Quailfinch (Ortygospiza atricollis) in the Limpopo Province, South Africa". The Wilson Journal of Ornithology. 132 (3). doi:10.1676/19-27. ISSN 1559-4491.
3. "Spizocorys conirostris - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
4. "IOC World Bird List 6.4". IOC World Bird List Datasets. doi:10.14344/ioc.ml.6.4.
5. Engelbrecht, Derek (2021-12-13). "Vocalizations and song flight of Pink-billed Lark Spizocorys conirostris". Afrotropical Bird Biology: Journal of the Natural History of African Birds. 1 (1). doi:10.15641/abb.v1i.1095. ISSN 2790-0592.

External links

• Species text - The Atlas of Southern African Birds