General

Eurasian Skylark: Medium-sized, fairly stout lark with dark-streaked, brown upperparts and white underparts with streaks on breast and sides. Head has indistinct crest that is short and erect. Tail is dark with white edges. Wings are fairly long with primary projection. Bill is short. Sexes are similar, female is smaller. Juvenile has mottled buff upperparts and black with white edgings, breast is more spotted than streaked. Races differ mostly in size and overall plumage tone; differences are subtle. Formerly called Sky Lark, name was changed to Eurasian Skylark in 2016 by the American Ornithologist Union.

Range and Habitat

Eurasian Skylark: Common in Hawaii; this species occurs accidentally during the winter along the Pacific coast to northern California. Siberian race occurs rarely during migration along the Aleutian archipelago. Preferred habitats include farmlands, moors, salt marsh, heaths, upland pastures, and industrial waste grounds.

Breeding and Nesting

Eurasian Skylark: 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

Eurasian Skylark: Their diet primarily includes seeds, plant leaves and insects, but they also sometimes eat fallen fruit and hand-spread cereal grain. Occasionally they capture flying insects by short jumps into the air or by direct aerial pursuit. They locate food visually by walking over the ground and picking up items from the soil surface, or by pecking directly at living and dying plant parts.

Vocalization

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

Similar Species

Eurasian Skylark: 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.