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Bird name:

Sky Lark

Alauda arvensis

Order

PASSERIFORMES

Family

Larks (Alaudidae)

Code 4

SKLA

Code 6

ALAARV

ITIS

178398

Breeding Location:

Grasslands

Breeding Type:

Monogamous

Breeding Population:

Accidental in winter on Pacific Coast

Egg Color:

Light gray with olive or brown blotches

Number of Eggs:

3 - 7

Incubation Days:

11 - 12

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Grasses., Lined with roots, grass and occasionally hair.

Migration:

Nonmigratory

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General

Sky Lark: Medium-sized lark (pekinensis), with dark-streaked, brown upperparts and white underparts with streaks on breast and sides. Head has indistinct crest and white eyebrows. Tail is dark with white edges. Sexes are similar.

Range and Habitat

Sky Lark: Common in Hawaii; accidental during winter on Pacific coast to northern California. Siberian race occurs rarely during migration on Aleutians. Preferred habitats include farmlands, moors, salt marsh, heaths, upland pastures, and industrial waste grounds.

Breeding and Nesting

Sky Lark: Three to seven light gray eggs with brown or olive blotches are laid in a nest lined with roots, grass, and hair, and built on the ground in an open field. Incubation ranges from 11 to 12 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Sky Lark: Eats mostly seeds and insects; forages while walking or running on the ground.

Vocalization

Sky Lark: Song is loud and continuous, and most often sung while rising vertically into the air. Call is gurgling, bubbly "cherrup."

Similar Species

Sky Lark: Horned Lark has white spots and streaks on upperparts, and lacks white trailing edge on secondaries. American Pipit has gray upperparts, buff underparts with brown streaks, and lacks crest and white secondary tips.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

Crest

Tufts of feathers on the head of the bird.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America