Pink-billed Lark
Spizocorys conirostris
A small, compact lark with a boldly marked face and a small, pink conical bill. Plumage varies across its range from tawny-brown in the southeast to creamy-gray in the northwest. Pairs and small groups are resident in moist eastern grassland and are partially nomadic in grassy sectors of the Karoo and Kalahari. The species forages for seed on the ground. Calls include a simple repeated trilling “trrrt-trrt-trrt-trrt.” The Pink-billed Lark has plain unstreaked flanks, while the very similar Botha’s Lark has diffuse streaking on the flanks.
Taxonomy
The pink-billed lark was originally classified within the genus Alauda. Some authorities have placed the pink-billed lark in the genus Calandrella.<p>Six subspecies are recognized:
- Scientific name
- Spizocorys conirostris
- Authority
- (Sundevall, 1850)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Alaudidae
- Genus
- Spizocorys
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Nomadic movement
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Forest Double-collared Sunbird
Cinnyris fuelleborni
A small typical ‘double-collared’ sunbird. Male has a variable width red breast band, violet-purple rump, and pale olive belly. Female and immature are duller. Singles and pairs frequent montane forest, forest edge, and gardens. Eastern Miombo Sunbird is larger than Forest Double-collared, with a gray-brown (not olive) belly and bluish (not violet-purple) rump, and preferring broadleaved woodland to montane forest; Montane Double-collared is larger with a longer bill. Has a typical jumbled sunbird song.
White-crested Spadebill
Platyrinchus platyrhynchos
Small, charismatic flycatcher of forest understory. Key field mark is gray head contrasting with white throat and tawny underparts. Found in tall rainforest where it is relatively uncommon and difficult to see well; usually alone or in pairs. Forages from low perches, darting up to scoop insects from undersides of leaves. Slightly larger, chunkier, and plainer-faced than other spadebills. Often first detected by its sharp call note; distinctive song is a rising then falling trill.
Visayan Tailorbird
Orthotomus castaneiceps
A small, long-billed, long-tailed bird of dense tangled undergrowth in lowland forest. Has olive-green wings and tail, a pale belly, a gray back of the neck, a gray back, and a gray chest with streaks. Note rufous cap and orange legs. Somewhat similar to leaf-warblers, but has a longer bill and a rufous cap. Song consists of a medium-pitched, whistled melody, “plik-wod plick-wee,” sometimes given in duet. Also gives downslurred nasal scolds.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.