Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis)

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The Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis) is a small passerine bird species. This lark breeds across most of Europe and Asia and in the mountains of north Africa. It is mainly resident in the west of its range, but eastern populations are more migratory, moving further south in winter. Even in the milder west of its range, many birds move to lowlands and the coast in winter. Asian birds appear as vagrants in Alaska; this bird has also been introduced in Hawaii, western North America, eastern Australia and New Zealand.

The Eurasian Skylark is 16 to 18 centimetres long. It is a bird of open farmland and heath, known throughout its range for the song of the male, which is delivered in hovering flight from heights of 50 to 100 m, when the singing bird may appear as just a dot in the sky from the ground. The song generally lasts two to three minutes, but it tends to last longer later in the mating season. The male has broader wings than the female. This adaptation for more efficient hovering flight may have evolved because of female Eurasian Skylarks’ preference for males that sing and hover for longer periods and so demonstrate that they are likely to have good overall fitness.

photo: Mihai BACIU

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