Eurasian Skylark
Alauda arvensis
The skylark can deliver its complex, liquid song continuously for up to 20 minutes while hovering at altitudes of nearly 100 meters.
- Scientific name
- Alauda arvensis
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Passeriformes › Alaudidae › Alauda
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- decreasing
- Biome
- grassland
- Habitat
- Open countryside, including meadows, heathlands, and agricultural fields with low-growing vegetation.
- Diet
- Primarily seeds and grains in winter, switching to insects, beetles, and spiders during the breeding season.
- Range
- Europe, Asia, North Africa, New Zealand (introduced), Australia (introduced)
- Size
- Length: 18-19 cm; Wingspan: 30-36 cm
- Lifespan
- 2-5 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Agricultural intensification, loss of fallow land, and early-season mowing which destroys ground nests.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless and shy. During nesting season (April–August), stay on marked paths in open fields to avoid crushing camouflaged ground nests. Observe their vertical song-flights from a distance with binoculars.
The Eurasian skylark ( Alauda arvensis ) is a small passerine bird species. It is a wide-spread species found across Europe and Asia with introduced populations in many other parts of the world. The genus name is from the Latin alauda , "lark". Pliny thought the word was originally of Celtic origin. The specific arvensis is also Latin, and means "of the field".
Photo: Ani Sarkisyan, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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