The Somali short-toed lark (''Alaudala somalica'') 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 th ...

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 lightweig ...

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 oc ...

family found in eastern and north-eastern Africa. The habitat of the Somali short-toed lark is subtropical or tropical dry lowland

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The Somali short-toed lark was originally placed in the genus ''

Calandrella ''Calandrella'' is a genus of larks in the family Alaudidae. Taxonomy and systematics The genus ''Calandrella'' was established by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1829 with the greater short-toed lark as the type species. The genus ...

'' until moved to ''Alaudala'' in 2014. Formerly or presently, some authorities considered the Somali short-toed lark as a subspecies of the

Mediterranean short-toed lark The Mediterranean short-toed lark (''Alaudala rufescens'') is a small passerine bird found in and around the Mediterranean Basin. It is a common bird with a very wide range from Canary Islands north to the Iberian Peninsula and east throughout N ...

and/or the

Athi short-toed lark The Athi short-toed lark (''Alaudala athensis'') is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is found in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. Taxonomy and systematics The Athi short-toed lark was originally described as belonging to the ge ...

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 The red-capped lark (''Calandrella cinerea'') is a small passerine bird. This lark breeds in the highlands of eastern Africa southwards from Ethiopia and Somaliland. In the south, its range stretches across the continent to Angola and south ...

Subspecies

Three subspecies are recognized: * ''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

References

Somali short-toed lark Birds of the Horn of Africa Somali short-toed lark Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Alaudidae-stub