Calandrella

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Calandrella
Tibetan Lark (Calandrella acutirostris)

Tibetan Lark ( Calandrella acutirostris )

Systematics
Order : Passerines (Passeriformes)
Subordination : Songbirds (passeri)
without rank: Passerida
Superfamily : Sylvioidea
Family : Larks (Alaudidae)
Genre : Calandrella
Scientific name
Calandrella
Kaup , 1829

Calandrella is a species of bird from the family of larks (Alaudidae). A German name has not yet been used for this genus. The assignment of individual species to this genus is currently under revision.

features

The species of the genus Calandrella are small to medium-sized larks. The beaks are stronger and more conical than those of the genera Alauda and Lullula . The nostrils are covered with small feathers. One of the distinguishing features of the species is the construction of the wings: the wings are more pointed than in the genus Mirafra . The tenth (innermost) hand swing is smaller than one centimeter and hardly visible. In older literature there is therefore an occasional reference that the genus only has nine hand wings. The rear claw is only slightly longer than the rear toe.

species

Distribution map of the genus Calandrella with traditional assignment of the species
Short-toed lark
Tschililerche
Red logs
Stub lark

The following 11 species are traditionally included in the genus Calandrella :

The assignment of individual species 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.

If the assignment of Per Alström and colleagues prevails, this leads to the following breakdown:

The newly created genus Alaudala includes :

Distribution area

Regardless of the disputed allocation of individual species - as described above - the range of the genus Calandrella is very large. It extends from the south of Africa to Central Asia.

Way of life

Like all larks, the Calandrella species are ground breeders. The diet consists of insects and seeds.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Pätzold: Compendium of Larks . P. 250.
  2. ↑ 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
  3. ↑ 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
  4. ↑ 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

Web links

Commons : Calandrella  - collection of images, videos and audio files