Larks

Larks are birds of small or medium size: length 10-25 cm, weight 15 to 80 g. Build strong, neck short, big head. The wings are long, wide and sharp, providing a quick flight. The shape of the beak is very different in genus and species. The tail consists of 12 tail feathers, cut straight or with a shallow notch. The legs are short and well adapted for movement on the ground. Unlike other singers, the tarsus is rounded behind and covered with transverse horny shields. Toes of medium length. The claw of the back finger is long and straight. Protective color masking the color of local soil. The top is usually brownish gray with streaks. Sexual dimorphism is weak, usually males are larger than females. Shedding occurs only in the fall, but due to exposure, the summer plumage is different from the winter.

Distributed in Eurasia and Africa, with more than half of the species are endemic to the latter. Some species inhabit America (the horned lark ) and Australia (the Javanese lark ). In Russia, there are 14 species of the family ^[3] .

Prefer open landscapes. The mountains rise to a height of 5300 m.

Feeding on the ground. The basis of nutrition is plants and their parts (leaves, seeds, flowers, buds, seedlings), insects and mollusks. They like to swim in the dust.

Singing is distinguished by sonority and melody ^[4] . They perform a characteristic high current flight.

Monogamy. The nest is arranged in a hole, masking with bushes, bunches of grass or stone. The female builds a nest and incubates eggs. In clutch - from 2 to 8 eggs. Incubation lasts 10-12 days. In season - 1 or 2 masonry. Both parents feed the chicks. The chicks leave the nest at the age of 10 days, still not knowing how to fly, and their parents feed them for another 8-10 days.

50 species are listed in the IUCN Red List , of which 7 are endangered or vulnerable.

As of February 2018, the family includes 21 genera with 98 species ^[5] :

• Alaemon Keyserling & Blasius, 1840 - Udodovye Larks (2 species)
• Alauda Linnaeus, 1758 - Field Larks (4 species)
• Alaudala Horsfield & F. Moore, 1858 (5 species)
• Ammomanes Cabanis, 1851 - Lark finch (3 species)
• Ammomanopsis Bianchi, 1905 (1 view)
• Calandrella Kaup, 1829 - Small Larks (6 species)
• Calendulauda Blyth, 1855 (8 species)
• Certhilauda Swainson, 1827 - African Larks ^[6] (6 species)
• Chersomanes Cabanis, 1851 (2 species)
• Chersophilus Sharpe, 1890 - Dupont Larks ^[6] (1 species)
• Eremalauda WL Sclater, 1926 (1 view)
• Eremophila F. Boie, 1828 - Horned Larks (2 species)
• Eremopterix Kaup, 1836 - Sparrow Larks ^[6] (8 species)
• Galerida F. Boie, 1828 - Tufted Larks (7 species)
• Heteromirafra Grant, 1913 - Long - spore Larks ^[7] (2 species)
• Lullula Kaup, 1829 - Forest Larks (1 species)
• Melanocorypha F. Boie, 1828 - Steppe Larks (5 species)
• Mirafra Horsfield, 1821 - Shrub Larks (24 species)
• Pinarocorys Shelley, 1902 (2 species)
• Ramphocoris Bonaparte, 1850 - Thick - billed Larks ^[8] (1 species)
• Spizocorys Sundevall, 1872 (7 species)

Kanbar ( Arabic: قنبر - “Lark”) is an Arabic name.

• Larky African Lark
• Madagascar Shrub Lark
• Gray Lark
• Salt Lark

• Boehme R. L. , Flint V. E. The Bilingual Dictionary of Animal Names. Birds. Latin, Russian, English, German, French / Ed. ed. Acad. V. E. Sokolova . - M .: Rus. lang., RUSSO, 1994. - 845 p. - 2030 copies. - ISBN 5-200-00643-0 .