The chestnut-backed sparrow-lark (''Eremopterix leucotis'') is a

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 generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

which is a resident breeder in Africa south of the

Sahara Desert The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The chestnut-backed sparrow-lark was originally placed in the genus ''

Loxia Crossbills are birds of the genus ''Loxia'' within the finch family (Fringillidae), with six species. These birds are characterized by the mandibles with crossed tips, which gives the group its English name. Adult males tend to be red or orange ...

''. It was later moved to the Lark 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 ...

under the genus

Eremopterix ''Eremopterix'' is the genus of sparrow-larks, songbirds in the family (biology), family Alaudidae. The sparrow-larks are found from Africa to the Indian subcontinent. Taxonomy and systematics Extant species The genus ''Eremopterix'' contains th ...

which includes all other sparrow-lark species. Alternate names for this species include: chestnut-backed finch-lark and white-cheeked sparrow-lark.

Subspecies

Five

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

are recognized: * Senegal chestnut-backed finch-lark (''E. l. melanocephalus'') - ( Lichtenstein, MHK, 1823): Originally described as a separate species in the genus ''

Alauda ''Alauda'' is a genus of larks found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species (the Raso lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands. Further, at least two additional species a ...

''. Found from Senegal and Gambia to central Sudan * ''E. l. leucotis'' - (

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

, 1814): Found in southern and eastern Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia and northwestern Somalia * East African chestnut-backed finch-lark (''E. l. madaraszi'') - (

Reichenow Anton Reichenow (1 August 1847 in Charlottenburg – 6 July 1941 in Hamburg) was a German ornithologist and herpetologist. Reichenow was the son-in-law of Jean Cabanis, and worked at the Natural History Museum of Berlin from 1874 to 1921. He was ...

, 1902): Found from southern Somalia and Kenya to northern Malawi and northern Mozambique * ''E. l. hoeschi'' - White, CMN, 1959: Found from southern Angola and northern Namibia to western Zimbabwe * South African chestnut-backed finch-lark (''E. l. smithi'') - ( Bonaparte, 1850): Found from southern Zambia and southern Malawi to eastern South Africa

Description

This is a small lark at 11 cm. The male is striking, with solid black underparts and head apart from brilliant white patches on the nape and behind the eyes. The upperparts and wings are chestnut with some dark streaking. The thick bill is grey. The female chestnut-backed sparrow-lark is a drabber bird with heavily streaked buff-white underparts and head, and a white nape collar. The upperparts are chestnut with mottling. Young birds are like the female.

Distribution and habitat

This

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 occ ...

is a bird of open dry habitats such as open grassland and arid savanna, preferring recently burned turf, open fields, and gravel plains. They shuffle along in bare patches foraging for seeds and insects. They are both resident and nomadic, although movements are poorly understood. It is often found in mixed flocks with chestnut-headed sparrow-lark where their ranges overlap in NE Africa. Geographic range: •Eremopterix leucotis: South Sudan to Ethiopia, Eritrea, and northwestern Somalia

Behaviour and ecology

It nests on the ground and lays one

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...

. Its food is insects and seeds.

References

* ''Birds of The Gambia'' by Barlow, Wacher and Disley,

External links

* Chestnut-backed sparrow-lark
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3233116 chestnut-backed sparrow-lark Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa chestnut-backed sparrow-lark