From Opus

Mirafra passerina

[edit] Identification

Length 14 cm, mass 21-28 g.

A compact Lark with a stout bill. The face is fairly plain and brown, and the white chin and throat contrast with the plain buff breast.

The voice is a monotonous trrp-chup-chip-choop sung day and night in the breeding season.

[edit] Distribution

Southern Angola, southern Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, southern and eastern Zimbabwe and north-eastern and north-central South Africa; extends marginally into south-eastern Mozambique.

[edit] Taxonomy

Monotypic.

[edit] Habitat

Semi-arid savanna, woodland and grassland.

[edit] Behaviour

Solitary or in pairs. Forages on the ground for invertebrates and seeds, and is easily overlooked when not calling.

Breeding: The nest is a cup made of grass on the gound against a tuft of grass. Growing grass may be incorporated into a dome structure over the cup. Two to four eggs are laid October to March.

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