# 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.

- **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.

## About

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".

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/1ef497eb-af30-453a-81fa-0f5f0dbd10a8
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/7347
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alauda arvensis
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/7408707/medium.jpeg (Ani Sarkisyan, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.