Thekla's lark (''Galerida theklae''), also known as the Thekla 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 ...

that breeds on the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...

, in northern Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal to Somalia. It is a sedentary ( non-migratory) species. This is a common bird of dry open country, often at some altitude. Thekla's lark was named by

Alfred Edmund Brehm Alfred Edmund Brehm (; 2 February 1829 – 11 November 1884) was a German zoologist, writer, director of zoological gardens and the son of Christian Ludwig Brehm, a famous pastor and ornithologist. Through the book title ''Brehms Tierlebe ...

in 1857 for his recently deceased sister Thekla Brehm (1833–1857). The name is a modern Greek one, Θέκλα ( Thekla), which comes from ancient Greek Θεόκλεια (Theokleia) derived from θεός ( theos, "god") and κλέος (kleos, "glory" or "honour"). The population is declining in Spain, but this is a common bird with a very wide range and the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of nat ...

has rated its conservation status as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

Taxonomy and systematics

Thekla's lark has several East African subspecies that show deep genetic divergence both among themselves and from the Mediterranean populations and are consequently strong candidates for consideration as separate species. Formerly, some authorities considered Thekla's lark and the

Malabar lark The Malabar lark, or Malabar crested lark (''Galerida malabarica'') is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found in western India. Taxonomy and systematics Originally, the Malabar lark was classified in the genus ''Alauda'' before being mo ...

to be

conspecific Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species. Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organis ...

. Alternate names for Thekla's lark include short-crested lark and Thekla crested-lark.

Subspecies

Twelve subspecies are recognized: * ''G. t. theklae'' - Brehm, AE, 1857: Also known as Iberian Thekla's lark. Found in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, Spain, Balearic Islands and extreme southern France * North Moroccan Thekla's lark (''G. t. erlangeri'') - Hartert, 1904: Found in northern

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

* Central Moroccan Thekla's lark (''G. t. ruficolor'') - Whitaker, 1898: Found in central and north-eastern Morocco, northern

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

and northern

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

* ''G. t. theresae'' - Meinertzhagen, R, 1939: Found in south-western Morocco and Mauritania * Hauts Plateaux Thekla's lark (''G. t. superflua'') - Hartert, 1897: Found in eastern Morocco, northern Algeria and eastern Tunisia * North African Thekla's lark (''G. t. carolinae'') - Erlanger, 1897: Found in eastern Morocco through the northern Sahara to north-western

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

* ''G. t. harrarensis'' - Érard & Jarry, 1973: Found in eastern

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

* ''G. t. huei'' - Érard & Naurois, 1973: Found in south-central Ethiopia * Abyssinian Thekla's lark (''G. t. praetermissa'') - ( Blanford, 1869): Found in southern Eritrea to central Ethiopia * Somali Thekla's lark (''G. t. ellioti'') - Hartert, 1897: Originally described as a separate species. Found in northern and central Somalia * ''G. t. mallablensis'' - Colston, 1982: Found in southern Somalia * ''G. t. huriensis'' - Benson, 1947: Found in southern Ethiopia and northern

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

Description

This is a smallish

, slightly smaller than the

Eurasian skylark The Eurasian skylark (''Alauda arvensis'') is a passerine bird in the lark family, Alaudidae. It is a widespread species found across Europe and the Palearctic with introduced populations in New Zealand, Australia and on the Hawaiian Islands. ...

. It has a long, spiky, erectile crest. It is greyer than the Eurasian skylark, and lacks the white wing and tail edge of that species. It is very similar to the widespread

crested lark The crested lark (''Galerida cristata'') is a species of lark widespread across Eurasia and northern Africa. It is a non-migratory bird, but can occasionally be found as a vagrant in Great Britain. Taxonomy and systematics The crested lark was ...

. It is smaller and somewhat greyer than that species, and has a shorter bill. In flight, it shows grey underwings, whereas the crested lark has reddish underwings. The body is mainly dark-streaked grey above and whitish below. The sexes are similar.

Distribution and habitat

Thekla's lark is native and resident in France, Spain, Portugal, Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya,

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

, Morocco, Somalia, Tunisia and

Western Sahara Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the ...

. Its typical habitat is rugged areas with scrub, bare patches of ground and semi-arid grassland.

Behaviour and ecology

Galerida theklae MHNT 232 Laghouat Algérie

It nests on the ground, laying two to six

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 ...

. Its food is weed, seeds and insects, the latter especially in the breeding season. The song is melodious and varied, with mournful whistles and mimicry included. It is softer and more tuneful than that of the crested lark, and may be sung during flight or from the ground or an exposed perch.

References

External links

Videos, photos and sounds
– Internet Bird Collection
Ageing and sexing (PDF; 2.3 MB) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze

Distinguishing characters between Thekla lark and crested lark (PDF; 1.7 MB)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q851570 Thekla lark Birds of North Africa Birds of East Africa Thekla lark Thekla lark