The rusty bush lark (''Mirafra rufa''), also known as the rusty lark is a species of

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 oc ...

in the family

Alaudidae 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 occ ...

found in the Sahel region of north-central Africa.

Taxonomy and systematics

Subspecies

Three subspecies are recognized: * ''M. r. nigriticola'' -

Bates Bates may refer to: Places * Bates, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Bates, Illinois. an unincorporated community in Sangamon County * Bates, Michigan, a community in Grand Traverse County * Bates, New York, a hamlet in the town of Ell ...

, 1932: Found from Mali to Niger * ''M. r. rufa'' - Lynes, 1920: Found in Chad and western Sudan * ''M. r. lynesi'' - Grant, CHB & Mackworth-Praed, 1933: Found in central Sudan

Distribution and habitat

The

range Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...

of the rusty bush lark is large, with an estimated global extent of occurrence of 470,000 km². It is typically found inhabiting the dry savannah

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

s of Chad, Mali, Niger, Sudan, and Togo.

References

* rusty bush lark Birds of the Sahel rusty bush lark Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN {{Alaudidae-stub