Rotbürzellerche
| Rotbürzellerche | ||||||||||||
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Representation of a red rump lark |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Pinarocorys erythropygia | ||||||||||||
| ( Strickland , 1852) |
The Rotbürzellerche ( Pinarocorys erythropygia ) is a dark-feathered species from the lark family. Its size corresponds to that of the skylark and with its color and comparatively long tail is reminiscent of a thrush . The distribution area of the Drossellerche is in Africa. No subspecies are distinguished.
The IUCN classifies the red raspberry lark as not endangered ( least concern ).
features
The Rotbürzellerche reaches a body length of about 17 to 19 centimeters, of which 6.4 to 7.5 centimeters are on the tail. The beak measures 1.7 to 2.04 centimeters measured from the beak. Bluebirds weigh about 30 grams. Unlike most larks and similar to the thrush lark belonging to the same genus, there is a slight sexual dimorphism.
The adult male is dark brown on the upper side of the body, only the rump and the upper tail-coverts have a reddish tone. The sides of the neck as well as the face and the stripes above the eyes are whitish. The cheeks and ear covers are dark brown, but have a whitish spot in the middle. The beard stripe is whitish, while the cheek and chin stripes are whitish. The chin and throat are also whitish, the chest is light brown and is noticeably speckled and dashed black-brown. The belly is whitish with no further color marks. The hand and arm wings are black-brown. The middle pair of control springs is dark brown with a reddish brown base. This red-brown portion increases the further out the control springs are. The sixth and outermost control spring only has a triangular badge at the tip of the inner vane. The beak is horn-colored, the iris is dark brown.
Females resemble males in their coloring. Their plumage, however, appears reddish overall, as the hand wings have significantly wider reddish borders.
Possible confusion
Due to its size and plumage color, the Rotbürzellerche is not to be confused with any other species of lark in its range. The thrush lark , from which it differs by the reddish rump and the reddish parts in the tail feathers, occurs further in southern Africa.
Distribution area and habitat
The distribution area of the Rotbürzellerche extends from the coasts of Senegal, Gambia and Guinea to Sudan and the northwest of Uganda. Overall, the distribution area is between 5 ° and 15 ° N as well as 15 ° W and 35 ° E. The Rotbürzellerche is a stationary , line and occasionally also a migratory bird . Outside of the breeding season, it is occasionally found in the central area of Niger and in the north-west of Sudan.
The habitat of the Rotbürzellerche is the savannah. It also occurs on burned areas and on cattle pastures.
Way of life
The Rotbürzellerche is a shy bird, which usually does not fly when disturbed, but constantly seeks protection in the low vegetation. The diet consists mainly of locusts and other invertebrates.
The reproductive behavior of the red rump lark has not yet been conclusively investigated. According to current knowledge, the breeding season in Nigeria falls between January and March and in Sudan between February and March. Like all larks, the Rotbürzellerche is a ground breeder. The eggs are stone-gray in color with gray and olive-brown spots and dots. Like most larks, the male also shows a singing flight. When singing, the male climbs up in a spiral circling, holds this altitude for one to two minutes and then returns to the ground, landing in a bush or on a tree.
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
- Singing of the Rotbürzellerche on Xeno-Canto
- Pinarocorys Erythropygia in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2016 Posted by: BirdLife International, 2016. Retrieved on 5 March 2017th