Pink-billed lark explained

The pink-billed lark (Spizocorys conirostris) is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found in southern Africa.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland. It is described as having a low breeding success rate.^[1]

Taxonomy and systematics

The pink-billed lark was originally classified within the genus Alauda. Some authorities have placed the pink-billed lark in the genus Calandrella.^[2]

Subspecies

Six subspecies are recognized:^[3]

• Damara pink-billed lark (S. c. damarensis) - Roberts, 1922: Alternately named Kenya short-toed lark (a name also used by the Athi short-toed lark). Found in north-western Namibia
• S. c. crypta - (Irwin, 1957): Found in north-eastern Botswana
• S. c. makawai - (Traylor, 1962): Found in western Zambia
• S. c. harti - (Benson, 1964): Found in south-western Zambia
• S. c. barlowi - Roberts, 1942: Found in southern Namibia, southern Botswana and north-western South Africa
• S. c. conirostris - (Sundevall, 1850): Found in south-eastern Botswana, northern, central and eastern South Africa

Vocalizations

Twelve types of vocalizations have been recorded.^[4]

• Nestling begging call: nestlings hiss or peep when they see a parent flying toward the nest.
• Nestling distress call: nestlings make a harsh pulsed call when in distress
• Nestling feeding call: parents make a soft chi-chi-chi sound when feeding nestlings
• Threat call: harsh and grating
• Appeasement calls: either chattering or metallic, made by parents during incubation
• Alarm call: pulsed, with a sharp rise then gradual fall in frequency. Mostly made while in flight.
• Attack call: series of tsks, made while chasing other pink-billed larks
• Cricket call: soft and rapid, often made while in flight
• Foraging calls: soft, with mixed sounds
• Flight call: high-pitched, possibly unique to each individual. Usually made while flying in flocks
• Flight song: made by males when performing aerial display. Rapid and pulsed.
  • The bird stays silent while steeply ascending, then begins singing. It then flies irregularly while singing its flight song, which usually lasts less than a minute. It sometimes then descends sharply.

External links

• Species text - The Atlas of Southern African Birds

Notes and References

1. Engelbrecht . G. Derek . Masotla . Makhudu J. . 2021-04-28 . Breeding ecology of the Quailfinch (Ortygospiza atricollis) in the Limpopo Province, South Africa . The Wilson Journal of Ornithology . 132 . 3 . 10.1676/19-27 . 1559-4491.
2. Web site: Spizocorys conirostris - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-12-04.
3. IOC World Bird List 6.4. IOC World Bird List Datasets. 10.14344/ioc.ml.6.4. free.
4. Engelbrecht . Derek . 2021-12-13 . Vocalizations and song flight of Pink-billed Lark Spizocorys conirostris . Afrotropical Bird Biology: Journal of the Natural History of African Birds . 1 . 1 . 10.15641/abb.v1i.1095 . 2790-0592. free .