Karoo Long-billed Lark - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Mybs
Photo taken: Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa. Uploaded to the Gallery as the pre-split C. curvirostris. This is a Karoo Long-billed Lark, probably C. s. bradshawi

Certhilauda subcoronata

Identification

Length 18-22 cm, mass 35-47 cm. A large lark with a long, decurved bill. Upper parts are dark brown in the south to reddish in the north, streaked darker; streaking more marked in the south. Under parts whitish, streaked dark brown on the breast.

Distribution

Inland central and southern Namibia and western South Africa.

Taxonomy

Certhilauda subcoronata has four subspecies:^1,2

• C. s. bradshawi

• Southern Namibia and north-western Northern Cape Province (South Africa)

• C. s. damarensis

• West-central Namibia

• C. s. subcoronata

• Inland western South Africa

• C. s. gilli

• Inland south-western South Africa

Cape Long-billed Lark, Agulhas Long-billed Lark, Eastern Long-billed Lark, Karoo Long-billed Lark and Benguela Long-billed Lark were previously considered a single species.³

Habitat

Semi-arid shrublands and grassy shrublands (karroid vegetation); usually rocky or stony areas.

Behaviour

Usually seen alone or in pairs. Forages on the ground for invertebrates and seeds; also eats fruit and small corms.

Vocalisation

The male sings from a perch, the ground, and while in aerial display. The call is a loud descending whistle peeeuuu lasting about a second (repeated every 8-15 seconds while perched).

Breeding

Monogamous and territorial. The nest is a cup of twigs and roots, sometimes with a partial dome; it is built on the ground at the base of a bush or stone. Two to three eggs are laid.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist.
2. Hockey, PAR, WRJ Dean, and PG Ryan, eds. 2005. Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa. 7th ed. Cape Town: John Voelcker Bird Book Fund. ISBN 978-0620340533
3. Sibley, CG and BL Monroe. 1996. Birds of the World, on diskette, Windows version 2.0. Charles G. Sibley, Santa Rosa, CA, USA.

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Karoo Long-billed Lark. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Karoo_Long-billed_Lark

External Links

Search for photos of Karoo Long-billed Lark in the gallery