Short-tailed lark

The short-tailed lark (Spizocorys fremantlii) is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae.

Short-tailed lark
P. f. delamerei in Serengeti N.P.
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Alaudidae
Genus:	Spizocorys
Species:	S. fremantlii
Binomial name
Spizocorys fremantlii (Lort Phillips, 1897)
Subspecies
See text
resident range
Synonyms
Calendula fremantlii Galerida fremantlii Pseudalaemon fremantlii

It is found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Tanzania. Its natural habitats are dry savannah, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, and subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland.^[1]

Taxonomy and systematics

The short-tailed lark was originally placed in the genus Calendula (which was subsequently renamed to Galerida) and then to the monotypic genus Pseudalaemon before it was re-classified to Spizocorys in 2014.^[2][3]

Subspecies

Three subspecies are recognized:^[4]

• Somali short-tailed lark (S. f. fremantlii) - (Lort Phillips, 1897): Found in south-eastern Ethiopia and Somalia
• S. f. megaensis - (Benson, 1946): Found in southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya
• Kenya short-tailed lark (S. f. delamerei) - (Sharpe, 1900): Originally described as a separate species. Found in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania

Behaviour and ecology

Food and feeding

The diet of the short-tailed lark consists mostly of vegetable material.^[5]

Illustrated by Keulemans