Calandra Lark - BirdForum Opus

Photo © by Jose Ardaiz
Ablitas (Navarre), Spain, June 2004

Melanocorypha calandra

Identification

17.5–20 cm long

Streaked grey brown upperparts
White underparts
Large black patches on breast sides
White supercilium
Short broad wings, dark below
Short white-edged tail
Yellowish-brown bill

Photo by mikeprince
Trujillo, Extremadura, Spain, June 2006

Distribution

Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia
Eastern Europe: Scandinavia, Norway, Finland, Faroe Islands, France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Yugoslavia, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Greece, Crete, Malta, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Moldova
Northern Africa: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt
Middle East: Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, Iran, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia
Asia: Russia, Siberia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Mongolia

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 4 subspecies^[1]:

M. c. calandra:

Mediterranean basin to eastern Turkey, north-western Iran, Transcaucasia and Urals

M. c. hebraica:

South-central Turkey, adjacent north-western Syria to Israel, Palestine and western Jordan

M. c. gaza:

South-eastern Turkey to eastern Syria, Iraq and south-western Iran

M. c. psammochroa:

Northern Iraq and northern Iran to Turkmenistan and eastern Kazakhstan

Habitat

Steppe and open cultivation, dry open country, grassland, farmland.

Behaviour

May form sizeable winter flocks.

Movement

Walks or runs. Flight similar to Eurasian Skylark but more bouncy.

Breeding

It nests on the ground. The clutch consists of 4–5 eggs.

Diet

The diet includes seeds supplemented with insects in the breeding season.

Vocalisation

Song: reminiscent of Skylark, but more melodic.
Call: varied. schreeep, treeh or trip, trip.

References

Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Avibase
Collins Bird Guide ISBN 0 00 219728
Collins Field Guide 5th Edition ISBN 0 00 219900 9

List of references

Recommended Citation

BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Calandra Lark. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 3 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Calandra_Lark

External Links

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