Williams's lark (''Mirafra williamsi'') 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 occ ...

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 ...

. Discovered in 1955, much of its life and ecology is still a mystery to

ornithology Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The bird is named after John George Williams (1913–1997) a British ornithologist who was curator of the Coryndon Museum in Nairobi, Kenya (now called the

National Museums of Kenya The National Museums of Kenya (NMK; ) is a state corporation that manages museums, sites and monuments in Kenya. It carries out heritage research, and has expertise in subjects ranging from palaeontology, archeology, ethnography and biodivers ...

). Alternate names for Williams's lark include Marsabit lark and Williams's bush lark.

Distribution and habitat

In general, the natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

of ''M. williamsi'' is subtropical or tropical dry

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...

. Its

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 ...

is restricted to northern Kenya where it is found in two disjunct

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

s: One population is located north of

Marsabit Marsabit is a town in the northern Marsabit County in Kenya. It is situated in the former Eastern Province and is almost surrounded by the Marsabit National Park. The town is located east of the centre of the East African Rift at an elevatio ...

, in the Didi Galgalla desert, a region marked by plains of rocky, red lava soils and patches of short-grass and

bushes A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

. The other inhabits a particular area (elevated between 600 m and 1,350 m) lying between

Isiolo Isiolo is a town in Isiolo County, of which it is the capital. It is located in the upper eastern region of Kenya and is geographically considered the center of the country Kenya. It lies 285 kilometers north of the capital Nairobi. The town gr ...

and

Garba Tula Garba Tula (also spelled Garbatulla) and popularly nicknamed by the locals ''El Borte'' (meaning ''Bitter Well'' , probably due to its salty water) is a town in Isiolo County, Northern Kenya. The town has an urban population of about 5,500. In 20 ...

. It has even, unbroken communities of ''

Barleria ''Barleria'' is a genus of plants in the family Acanthaceae. It includes 303 species native to the tropics and subtropics, including the Americas from Mexico to northern South America, sub-Saharan Africa, Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula, the Indi ...

'' shrubs.

Behaviour and ecology

The males of the species perform long, drawn-out, conspicuous song-flights above their territories after the rains at dawn, making them easy to find at this time.

Food and feeding

Williams's larks consume various seeds and insects.

References

Williams's lark Endemic birds of Kenya Williams's lark Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Alaudidae-stub