Wood Lark
Lullula arborea
Brown and streaky with a short bushy crest; black-and-white mark at bend of wing diagnostic but difficult to see. Rather chunky, and shorter tailed than Eurasian Skylark. White tail corners evident in flight but lacks Skylark’s white outer tail feathers and white trailing edge to wings. Inhabits sandy heathland, old farmland, and clearings in mixed and coniferous woodland. Inconspicuous, rather shy, and easily overlooked, often not seen until flushed up from the ground. Like many larks, often best detected by voice: listen for its lovely song, an accelerating series of fluid notes. Call is a short and musical “tu’lee” or “tu’li’lee.”
Identification
This is a 13.5- to 15-cm-long bird, slightly smaller than the skylark being roughly 20% shorter. The woodlark is mainly brown above and pale below, but with a distinctive white superciliar meeting on the nape. It has a crest which is quite small and at most times inconspicuous. In flight it shows a short tail and short broad wings. The tail is tipped with white, but unlike the skylark, the tail sides and the rear edge of the wings are not edged with white.<p>A songbird, the woodlark has a melodious, warbling song often described onomatopoeically as a lu-lu-lu- or, more precisely, as a "serial lū-lū-lū-lū-lū-", toolooeet toolooeet toolooeet.
Taxonomy
The woodlark was described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae and given the binomial name Alauda arborea. This binomial name is identical to the Latin name used in 1676 by English ornithologist Francis Willughby in his Ornithologiae libri tres. The woodlark is now placed in the genus Lullula that was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1829. The current genus name is onomatopoeic from French “Lulu”, the name given to the bird by de Buffon. The French name, Alouette lulu, and the scientific name, Lullula arborea, are derived from the sound of its song. The specific arborea is from Latin arbor, arboris, "tree".<p>There are two subspecies of woodlark:
- Scientific name
- Lullula arborea
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Alaudidae
- Genus
- Lullula
Range and habitat
Found mainly in Europe, the mountains of northern Africa and western Asia, the woodlark is present across much of its range. In Europe, the bird seems most at home in the sandy heaths of Belgium, where its density was 7.5 pairs per square kilometre (km2) in 1988. In the same year, densities in East Germany ranged from 0.29 to 5.0 pairs per km2 and between 0.1 and 0.25 pairs per km2 in southern England, with more optimal habitats being more densely populated. However, populations fluctuated across Europe in the 1990s and 2000s and more up-to-date density figures are unavailable. The extent of the woodlark's range is England in the west, parts of northern Egypt to the south, Iran and Turkmenistan to the east and the Scandinavian Peninsula in the north. Declining populations have resulted in the woodlark's range contracting, for example in Britain it once bred in Wales and central England but is now found only in southern England. Within its range it is mainly resident in the west, with eastern populations migrating south in the winter.<p>The woodlark's natural habitat is heathland and open spaces sparsely populated with trees. They prefer clearings in pine forests and heathland and like newly planted areas with pine saplings. Experimental work showed that annual ground‐disturbance can increase Woodlark abundance within lowland grass‐heaths. The bird can also be found more rarely in urban areas. For example, in 1950 a pair were recorded on a main road near Putney Heath, London.
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
Conservation
Population trend: rising.
- Population trend
- rising
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Yemen Serin
Crithagra menachensis
Small, slim seedeater of the southern Arabian highlands. Brown overall, with a buffy face and whitish underparts. , Note blurry pale eyebrow, fine dark streaks on the crown and upper back, and blotchy streaking on the underparts. Found in rocky montane areas, both with and without trees and shrubs. Sometimes on human structures. Usually in small groups. The song is a simple series of whistles and trills, and calls include rising “swiiit” notes, “chwee” notes, and dry rattles. Similar to Olive-rumped Serin, but has a stronger facial pattern and lacks an olive rump. Also tends to be found in more barren areas.
Slender-billed Kite
Helicolestes hamatus
Medium-sized, dark raptor with distinctive shape. Adult plumage is entirely slate gray with red legs; immature similar but shows some pale barring on underparts and tail. Note contrasting yellow eye and exceptionally long, decurved bill; in flight, shows very short tail, broad wings, and lack of any white in plumage. Inhabits swampy forests, where it perches quietly at lower and middle levels, preying on snails. Soars frequently but seldom high or for very long (note distinctive flight profile). Call is an explosive single note, falling in pitch and with complaining quality, much like call of Roadside Hawk but more nasal. Most similar to Snail Kite but has yellow (not red) eye, shorter tail with no white, and is generally found in and over closed-canopy forest habitats that Snail Kite avoids.
Western Barn Owl
Tyto alba
Medium-sized owl with a heart-shaped facial disc and deep dark eyes; in parts of its range the only Tyto owl present, but compare with larger and darker-winged African Grass-Owl where overlap occurs. Varies across a wide range, but always note white-and-black speckling on the upperparts, beautiful gray-and-tawny wings, and large round head. Color of the facial disc and underparts varies from pure white to rusty orange. Hunts in open areas by night, foraging with a slow and buoyant flight. Roosts in old buildings, tree hollows, caves, and nest boxes by day. Gives a bone-chilling, rising shriek, as well as shorter rasping calls.
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