Mongolian Lark
| Mongolian Lark | ||||||||||||
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Mongolian Lark |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Melanocorypha mongolica | ||||||||||||
| ( Pallas , 1776) |
The Mongolian Lark ( Melanocorypha mongolica ) is a large, light-colored species from the lark family. Its distribution area is Central Asia. There are two subspecies.
The population of the Mongolian Lark is classified by the IUCN as harmless ( least concern ).
Mongolian larks are one of those species that mimic numerous other bird species with their song. As late as the 1920s, tens of thousands of them were traded on the markets of Beijing and called "a hundred melodies" because of their varied singing.
features
The Mongolian Lark reaches a body length of 19 centimeters, of which 6.7 to 8.6 centimeters are on the tail. The beak length is 1.5 to 1.7 centimeters measured from the forehead spring base. They weigh about 60 grams. There is no noticeable gender dimorphism .
The forehead, the parting and the parting sides are dark rust-brown to light brown. The back of the head and the nape of the neck are lighter, the nape of the neck is separated from the dorsal feathers by a whitish line. The back and the rump are gray-brown with a vertical line. The upper tail-coverts are red-brown.
A noticeable, whitish stripe above the eye runs above the eye and ends at the back of the head. The chin and upper throat are pure white, with a narrow black choker running underneath. The front breast is light reddish brown, the rest of the underside of the body is white. The wings are brown to black with an increasing proportion of white on the inside flag and white feather tips from the fourth to the first wing. The arm wings, on the other hand, are predominantly white, so that when the wings are folded a white wing band is created. The middle pair of control springs is dark red-brown, the other control springs are brown-black to black with an increasing proportion of white on the tip of the outer flag. The fifth control pen next to the white pen tip on the outside flag is lined with white. With the sixth control spring, on the other hand, the outer vane is white, on the inner vane there is a four centimeter long, wedge-shaped white area from the tip. The rest of the inside flag, however, is black.
The upper beak is dark horn-gray, while the lower beak is whitish yellow. The iris is brown.
Possible confusion
In its area of distribution, the Mongolian Lark is unmistakable due to its size, its goiter band and the proportion of white in the wings. It has a resemblance to the calender lark . This species of lark, which is also found in southern Europe, does not occur further to the east than Turkmenistan . In contrast, the white winged lark , which occurs as far as the south-west of Mongolia, has no goiter.
Distribution area, subspecies and habitat
The distribution area of the Mongolian Lark is roughly between the 34th and 51st degrees of latitude north and the 93rd and 124th degree of longitude east. Mongolia, the southeastern Transbaikal region and northeastern China belong accordingly to the distribution area . The habitat are grasslands, stony plateaus and swamps.
Way of life
The Mongolian Lark eats seeds and insects. Like all species of lark, the Mongolian lark is a ground breeder. The breeding season falls in May and June. The clutch consists of three to five eggs.
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 .
