Plocealauda

Plocealauda is a genus of larks in the family Alaudidae. Introduced in 2023, it contains five species that were formerly placed in the genus Mirafra. Their distributions range from the Indian subcontinent to Southeast Asia.

Plocealauda
Bengal bush lark (Plocealauda assamica)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Alaudidae
Genus:	Plocealauda Alström, Mohammadi, Enbody, Irestedt, Engelbrecht, Crochet, Guillaumet, Rancilhac, Tieleman, Olsson, Donald & Stervander, 2023
Type species
Miafra assamica Horsfield, 1840

Taxonomy and systematics

A 2023 molecular phylogenetic study of the lark family Alaudidae by the Swedish ornithologist Per Alström and collaborators found that the genus Mirafra contained deep internal genetic divergences. They therefore proposed splitting Mirafra into four genera, each corresponding to a major clade. Names were available for three of the clades, but for the fourth clade, they introduced the new name Plocealauda and designated the type species as Miafra assamica Horsfield, 1840, the Bengal bush lark.^[1] The name Plocealauda is a portmanteau of the genera Ploceus, introduced by Georges Cuvier for the weavers in 1816, and Alauda, introduced by Carl Linnaeus for the larks in 1785.^[2]

Species

The genus Plocealauda contains five species, all of which include "bush lark" in their English name.^[3]

• Burmese bush lark, Plocealauda microptera
• Indochinese bush lark, Plocealauda erythrocephala
• Jerdon's bush lark, Plocealauda affinis
• Indian bush lark, Plocealauda erythroptera
• Bengal bush lark, Plocealauda assamica

Two species in other genera also have "bush lark" in their English names: the singing bush lark (Mirafra javanica) and the rusty bush lark (Calendulauda rufa).^[3]