Benson Lark
| Benson Lark | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Calandrella athensis | ||||||||||||
| ( Sharpe , 1900) |
The Bensonlerche ( Calandrella Athensis ) is a kind from the family of larks. It corresponds in their body proportions of occurring among others in southern Europe toed Lark . The distribution area of the Benson Lark is in the east of Africa. No subspecies are distinguished.
The assignment of the Benson Lark to the genus Calandrella is currently being revised. In 2013, Per Alström and colleagues found in a study on the relationship of the larks that the genus Calandrella would be paraphyletic in the usual delimitation . According to their results, Calandrella consists of two groups of species. For those that do not contain the type species Calandrella brachydactyla , they reactivated the old genus name Alaudala Horsfield & Moore, which was previously considered a synonym , in 1856 (type species: Calandrella raytal ). Accordingly, the Benson Lark should be transferred to this genus together with the Stubby Lark, the Tschililerche , the Somali Lark and the River Lark . This change has already been adopted in many cases. However, a more recent study from 2016 found an unstable phylogeny and raised doubts about the monophyly of some species.
features
The Benson Lark reaches a body length of about 13 to 14 centimeters, of which between 4.3 and 5.0 centimeters is on the tail. It is one of the little larks. There is no gender dimorphism .
The Benson is similar in appearance to the Stummelche and has long been classified as a subspecies of it. Basically, the Benson Lark has comparatively short and wide wings with a rounded tip. The upper side of the body is otherwise strongly striped dark. The edges of the individual feathers are whitish to light sand-colored. The underside of the body is whitish and is washed out light brown on the chest and the flanks. The chest is dashed black-brown. This stripe is very dense on the chest.
Distribution area and way of life
The Benson Lark is found in the south of Kenya and in the northeast of Tanzania. It is a resident bird in its entire range . It eats seeds and insects and pecks them even from low vegetation. Like all larks, it is a ground breeder.
literature
- Rudolf Pätzold : The larks of the world . Westarp Sciences, Magdeburg 1994, ISBN 3-89432-422-8 .
- Rudolf Pätzold: Compendium of Larks. All the larks on earth. Jan-Schimkat-Medienpublikation, Dresden 2003, ISBN 3-00-011219-7 .
Web links
Single receipts
- ^ Pätzold: Compendium of Larks . P. 280
- ↑ Per Alström, Keith N. Barnes, Urban Olsson, F. Keith Barker, Paulette Bloomer, Aleem Ahmed Khan, Masood Ahmed Qureshi, Alban Guillaumet, Pierre-André Crochet, Peter G. Ryan (2013): Multilocus phylogeny of the avian family Alaudidae (larks) reveals complex morphological evolution, non-monophyletic genera and hidden species diversity. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 69 (3): 1043-1056. doi : 10.1016 / j.ympev.2013.06.005
- ↑ George Sangster, J. Martin Collinson, Pierre-André Crochet, Guy M. Kirwan, Alan G. Knox, David T. Parkin, Stephen C. Votier (2014): Taxonomic recommendations for Western Palaearctic birds: 10th report. Ibis 157: 193-200. doi : 10.1111 / ibi.12221
- ↑ Martin Stervander, Per Alström, Urban Olsson, Ulf Ottosson, Bengt Hansson, Staffan Bensch (2016): Multiple instances of paraphyletic species and cryptic taxa revealed by mitochondrial and nuclear RAD data for Calandrella larks (Aves: Alaudidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 102: 233-245. doi : 10.1016 / j.ympev.2016.05.032