Somali short-toed lark explained

The Somali short-toed lark (Alaudala somalica) is a small passerine bird of the lark family found in eastern and north-eastern Africa.

The habitat of the Somali short-toed lark is subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland.

Taxonomy and systematics

The Somali short-toed lark was originally placed in the genus Calandrella until moved to Alaudala in 2014.^[1] Formerly or presently, some authorities considered the Somali short-toed lark as a subspecies of the Mediterranean short-toed lark and/or the Athi short-toed lark as a subspecies of the Somali short-toed lark. The alternate name rufous short-toed lark is also used to describe the red-capped lark.

Subspecies

Three subspecies are recognized:^[2]

• A. s. perconfusa - (White, CMN, 1960): Found in north-western Somalia
• A. s. somalica - Sharpe, 1895: Found in eastern Ethiopia and northern Somalia
• A. s. megaensis - (Benson, 1946): Found from southern Ethiopia to central Kenya

Notes and References

1. Web site: Taxonomy 4.1 to 4.4 « IOC World Bird List. www.worldbirdnames.org. 2016-12-20.
2. IOC World Bird List 6.4. IOC World Bird List Datasets. 10.14344/ioc.ml.6.4. free.