Blanford's Lark
Calandrella blanfordi
The Blanford's Lark (Calandrella blanfordi) is a legendary lark found in 5 countries, weighing about 24 g. Blanford's lark or Blanford's short-toed lark is a small passerine bird of the lark family, Alaudidae, which is native to north-eastern Africa.
About the Blanford's Lark
Blanford's lark or Blanford's short-toed lark is a small passerine bird of the lark family, Alaudidae, which is native to north-eastern Africa. Its common name commemorates the English zoologist William Thomas Blanford.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
Blanford's lark is 14–15 centimetres long. The upperparts are pale sandy-brown with some darker streaking and the crown is rufous. The underparts are pale and plain apart from a small dark patch on the side of the neck made up of vertical streaks. The greater short-toed lark is similar but has a greyer, more-streaked crown. Erlanger's and red-capped larks have darker upperparts with more streaking and a darker rufous crown. Erlanger's lark has larger dark neck-patches while in red-capped lark the patches are rufous. Blanford's lark has a sparrow-like flight-call.
Where it lives
When to see it
Best months: January, February, March, April, June, August, September, October, November, December, with peak activity in November. It is a variable species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Blanford's Lark?
- Blanford's lark is 14–15 centimetres long. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Blanford's Lark?
- The Blanford's Lark is a small sized bird weighing about 24 g.
- Where can you see a Blanford's Lark?
- The Blanford's Lark occurs in 5 countries, including Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Eritrea, Yemen and Somalia.
- What birds look similar to a Blanford's Lark?
- The Blanford's Lark is most easily confused with the Hume's Short-toed Lark, the Red-capped Lark and the Greater Short-toed Lark.
- Is the Blanford's Lark endangered?
- The Blanford's Lark is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Blanford's Lark for real
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