Tibetan Lark
| Tibetan Lark | ||||||||||||
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Tibetan Lark |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Calandrella acutirostris | ||||||||||||
| Hume , 1873 |
The Tibetan Lark ( Calandrella acutirostris ) is a small species from the lark family. Its body proportions correspond to the short-toed lark found in southern Europe . The range of the Tibetan Lark is in Asia. There are two subspecies.
The IUCN classifies the population of the Tibetan Lark as harmless ( least concern ).
features
The Tibetan Lark reaches a body length of about 13 to 14 centimeters, of which between 5.8 and 6.5 centimeters are on the tail. The beak measures between 1.3 and 1.5 centimeters from the skull. It weighs 18 to 23 grams. There is no gender dimorphism .
The basic color of the top of the body is sand-colored, light yellowish gray or gray-brown. The top of the head and the upper back are for this reason finely dark stripes lengthways, in some individuals, however, the top of the head is occasionally completely without drawing. The rump is monochrome, sand-colored with a pinkish tinge. The wings and the umbrella feathers are dark gray-brown with pale brown edges. The large and middle arm covers have broad yellowish to whitish tips that form two clearly visible wing bands when in flight. The tail is also gray-brown, the outermost (sixth) control spring has a yellowish-white wedge on the outside.
The species shows an indistinct, dirty-white over-eye stripe , which is delimited below by a fine dark eye stripe. The cheeks and ear coverts are almost unbroken, monochrome gray-brown and broadly white at the back and below. The cheek and chin stripes are narrow and dark black-gray, the beard stripes are white. Most individuals have a narrow, dark patch on the side of the chest, the sides of the chest underneath and the upper flanks are darkly dashed on a yellowish background. The rest of the breast and throat, like the rest of the rest of the underside of the torso, are solid white.
The iris is dark brown, the legs are fleshy, the slender bill is brownish-yellow and a little longer and slimmer than that of the short-toed lark.
Possible confusion
The short-toed lark , from which the Tibetan lark can hardly be distinguished when observing the field , also occurs in its range . Overall, the upper side of the body of the Tibetan Lark is less strongly striped and a little grayer than this.
Distribution area and habitat
The Tibetan Lark is found in Iran, Afghanistan, northeast Pakistan, northern India and western China. It is in their area of distribution a stand , stroke and migratory . As a summer guest she can also be found in the south of Nepal. She has already been observed as a stray visitor in Israel.
The habitat of the Tibetan Lark are semi-deserts with sparse, low vegetation, grass steppes and stony high plateaus up to an altitude of 5000 meters. It also occurs in boggy places, river banks and small ponds. Unlike the giant bog lark , however, it does not live in the pure bog-steppe.
Way of life
Similar to the giant marsh lark, the Tibetan lark also passes through shallow water holes. In its behavior it is reminiscent of pipit and can be confused with the Pacific water pipit hibernating there . The male shows a singing flight in which it reaches a height of 20 to 50 meters.
The diet consists of seeds and insects. Since it has already been observed while the Tibetan lark dipped its head in water, it is also possible that small fish belong to its food spectrum.
Like all larks, the Tibetan Lark is a ground breeder. The inside of the nest is laid out with fine plant material and wool. The clutch consists of two eggs that have a fresh full weight of 2.37 grams. The nestlings are fed by both parent birds.
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
- Song of the Tibetan Lark on Xeno-Canto
- Calandrella acutirostris in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2016 Posted by: BirdLife International, 2016. Retrieved on February 26, 2017. </