Cape Clapper Lark (Corypha apiata) | Photos and ID

LCLeast ConcernInvertebrates

Grassland

Cape Clapper Lark (Corypha apiata), photo 4 — Photo: (c) Karen Eichholz, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Cape Clapper Lark (Corypha apiata), photo 5 — Photo: (c) Wynand Uys, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Cape Clapper Lark (Corypha apiata), photo 6 — Photo: (c) Wynand Uys, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Cape Clapper Lark (Corypha apiata), photo 7 — Photo: (c) Timothy Whitehead, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Cape Clapper Lark (Corypha apiata), photo 8 — Photo: (c) Christoph Moning, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Cape Clapper Lark (Corypha apiata), photo 9 — Photo: (c) Justin Ponder, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Cape Clapper Lark (Corypha apiata), photo 10 — Photo: (c) Wynand Uys, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

ID tip

This lark is a 15 cm long bird, with a brown crown, rich rufous underparts, and a strong bill. The Cape clapper lark has grey upperparts and a grey face, and the Agulhas clapper lark has dark brown upperparts, although individual variation means that it cannot always be reliably distinguished from the nominate race. The display commences with an ascending flight with wing flapping. The Cape clapper lark has a slower wing clap compared to the Eastern clapper lark, and its otherwise similar call is longer and rises in pitch more.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

About the Cape Clapper Lark

The Cape clapper lark is a small passerine bird which breeds in southern Africa. It derives its name from the wing clapping which forms part of the display flight. The Cape clapper lark is a species of open grassland and savannah, also inhabiting karoo, fynbos and fallow agricultural land.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Highland LarkCorypha kurraeThe highland lark is a species of small passerine bird in the lark family Alaudidae found in Africa from Guinea to west Sudan.

Eastern Clapper LarkCorypha fasciolataThis lark is a 15-cm-long bird, with a brown crown, rich rufous underparts, and a strong bill.

Plains LarkCorypha kabaliiThe plains lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found in Gabon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola and northwest Zambia.

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