Williams's Lark

Mirafra williamsi

A small, compact lark with variable dark- to rusty-brown upperparts, sometimes with darker streaks or feather centers, pale eyebrows and throat, and a pale belly that contrasts with the heavily streaked chest, often washed rufous. The tail is brownish with white outer feathers that are conspicuous in flight. Restricted to a very specific habitat, rocky lava-strewn plains in semi-desert, in two areas of Kenya. Vocalizations are poorly known, but a loud “tsireet” has been recorded during the display flight. Other similar larks are generally less rusty and less streaked on the chest.

分类信息

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

学名
Mirafra williamsi
命名信息
Macdonald, 1956
Passeriformes
Alaudidae
Mirafra

分布与栖息地

In general, the natural habitat of M. williamsi is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. Its range is restricted to northern Kenya where it is found in two disjunct populations:<p>One population is located north of Marsabit, in the Didi Galgalla desert, a region marked by plains of rocky, red lava soils and patches of short-grass and bushes.<p>The other inhabits a particular area (elevated between 600 m and 1,350 m) lying between Isiolo and Garba Tula. It has even, unbroken communities of Barleria shrubs.

迁徙
Resident species

行为

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.<p>Williams's larks consume various seeds and insects.

保护状况

种群趋势
stable

照片

分布

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