Melodious Lark
Mirafra cheniana
A small, compact lark with a small bill and a bold facial pattern with a distinct eyebrow. It has streaky upperparts with a distinct rufous wing panel and a lightly streaked buffy chest that separates the white throat from the creamy-buff belly. Pairs prefer lush grassland with vegetation shorter than 50 centimeters tall and with open spaces between the tussocks. From September to March, breeding males undertake lengthy aerial displays lasting 30-40 minutes, hanging still in the air before dropping and dangling stationary again, singing all the while. The song is made up of melodious whistles and trills, and buzzy notes, sometimes organized into series or repeating phrases, and incorporating a phenomenal repertoire of imitations of other birds. The similar Monotonous Lark is larger than the Latakoo Lark, with a plainer facial pattern, a less distinct eyebrow, and a different song and display.
Taxonomy
The alternate name of singing bush lark usually refers to the species of that name, Mirafra cantillans. Other alternate names for the melodious lark include: Latakoo lark, Latakoo bush lark, melodious bushlark, singing bush lark, Southern lark, Southern singing bush lark and Southern singing lark.
- Scientific name
- Mirafra cheniana
- Authority
- Smith, A, 1843
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Alaudidae
- Genus
- Mirafra
Range and habitat
The melodious lark has a probable maximum range of 110,400 square kilometres (42,600 sq mi), separated into many disjunct populations located in South Africa (Eastern Cape, the Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, and North West Province), Botswana and Zimbabwe. At times, local populations will abandon one area for another when the regular dry-season fires occur.<p>The natural habitat of the melodious lark is subtropical or tropical, seasonally wet or flooded, lowland grassland. Within these regions, it prefers the drier slopes, especially in open runs between grassy tussocks.<p>Melodious larks select different textures of grass or grass parts to build their domed, obliquely-accessed nests. They use the harder and more fibrous grasses and stalks for an outer thatch, while the finer and softer grasses or grass leaves are used to line the nest's interior.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The melodious lark is assessed as likely to be both territorial and monogamous, and lays a clutch of 2-4 eggs. It is generally resident, breeding from September to March. The level of breeding activity varies depending on locality. The most active period in South Africa is between November and January, while in Zimbabwe it is from January to March.<p>The melodious lark forages on the ground for food, eating mostly grass seeds supplemented with insects.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Dryoscopus cubla
A small, canopy-loving black-and-white shrike with a fiery red eye. When excited, males can raise fluffy white feathers on the rump to resemble a puffball. The sexes differ, with males clean-cut and females duller and more cream-and-gray in coloration. Singles and pairs frequently join mixed-species flocks foraging agilely for insects, working the canopy of dense broadleaf woodland and riverine, lowland, and montane forest. Black-backed Puffbacks are often detected by their characteristic song: a loud click followed by a whistled wheeeoo,” the combination given repeatedly.
Rosy Starling
Pastor roseus
Adult is unique, a vision in glossy black and pale pink. Juvenile is brown with an orange bill. Breeds in colonies on steppes and winters in open and wooded habitats. Gathers in huge numbers to roost, often mixing with other species at roost sites. Flocking birds keep up a constant cacophony of dry chattering calls.
European Robin
Erithacus rubecula
Distinctive and charismatic little bird with a bright orangey face and breast (easily hidden when facing away). Juvenile is very different, with bold pale buffy spotting on the back and breast. Found in a wide range of wooded habitats, including forests, gardens, hedges in farmland, and heathland, usually fairly near cover. Hops perkily on the ground, pausing to look around, often flicking its wings and cocking its tail. Also feeds by dropping to the ground from low perches, snatching up prey and flying back up to a shady perch. High-pitched song is highly variable, and incorporates a range of warbles and trills. Subsong is a rambling warbling series often incorporating odd fizzing and twittering notes. Calls include a dry “tic”, often given in bursts, as well as a thin, high-pitched, descending alarm call.
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