Dunn's lark (''Eremalauda dunni'') is a small

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

of the

lark Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. Larks have a cosmopolitan distribution with the largest number of species occurring in Africa. Only a single species, the horned lark, occurs in North America, and only Horsfield's bush lark occu ...

family. It is a

desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...

bird which is found across parts of the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

from

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

to central

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

Taxonomy and systematics

Dunn's lark was originally described as belonging to the genus ''

Calendula ''Calendula'' () is a genus of about 15–20 species''Calendula''.
Flora of China.

'' and has also been classified by some authorities as belonging to the genus '' Ammomanes''.

Stark's lark Stark's lark (''Spizocorys starki'') is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. Its natural habitats are dry savannah and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. Captain George Shelle ...

was formerly also classified in the genus ''Eremalauda''; it has since been moved to ''

Spizocorys ''Spizocorys'' is a genus of African larks in the family Alaudidae found in southern and eastern Africa. Taxonomy and systematics Extant species The genus contains seven extant species: * Obbia lark (''Spizocorys obbiensis'') * Sclater's lark ...

'', leaving Dunn's lark as the only species in the genus ''Eremalauda''. The Arabian lark (''E. eremodites'') of the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...

was formerly considered conspecific, but was classified as a distinct species by the Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive and by

Birdlife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

, and later by the International Ornithological Congress.

Description

Dunn's lark is a stocky bird with a large head and broad wings. It is 14 to 15 cm long with a wingspan of 25 to 30 cm.Snow, D. W. & Perrins, C. M. (1998) ''Birds of the Western Palearctic: Concise Edition, Vol. 2'', Oxford University Press. The upperparts are pale sandy-brown with darker streaks. The underparts are whitish with some dark streaks on the breast. There is a pale stripe over the eye and a pale ring around it. Birds have dark moustachial and malar stripes and a dark mark under the eye. The short, broad tail is black below while the upperside is black with rusty-brown central feathers and pale outer feathers. The

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

is large, heavy and pale pinkish or yellowish in colour. After

moult In biology, moulting (British English), or molting (American English), also known as sloughing, shedding, or in many invertebrates, ecdysis, is the manner in which an animal routinely casts off a part of its body (often, but not always, an outer ...

ing, the birds become gradually duller and the dark markings fainter as the

plumage Plumage ( "feather") is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, ...

becomes more worn.Harris, Alan, Shirihai, Hadoram & Christie, David (1996) ''The Macmillan Birder's Guide to European and Middle Eastern Birds'', Macmillan, London. The

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

is a scratchy warbling with short whistling phrases. Males sing either from the ground or in flight, hovering 30 metres or more above the ground.

Distribution and habitat

In Africa, the species has a scattered range from Mauritania through Mali, Niger and Chad to Sudan.Sinclair, Ian & Ryan, Peter (2003) ''Birds of Africa south of the Sahara'', Struik, Cape Town. Dunn's larks are found in flat, arid areas with light vegetation such as grass and scattered bushes.

Behaviour and ecology

Breeding

The nest is a scrape on the ground which is lined with vegetation. Two or three

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

are laid and are incubated for 13 to 16 days. They are white with blackish and lavender spots.

Food and feeding

The diet mainly includes

seeds A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosperm pl ...

and insects. Birds feed on the ground and sometimes dig for food with their bills. They typically feed in flocks outside the breeding season, moving nomadically in response to rainfall.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:lark, Dunn's Dunn's lark Dunn's lark Taxa named by George Ernest Shelley