Larks arepasserinebirds of the familyAlaudidae. Larks have acosmopolitan distribution with the largest number of species occurring in Africa. Only a single species, thehorned lark, occurs in North America, and onlyHorsfield's bush lark occurs in Australia. Habitats vary widely, but many species live in drier regions. When the word "lark" is used without specification, it often refers to theEurasian skylark(Alauda arvensis).[1]
The family Alaudidae was introduced in 1825 by the Irish zoologistNicholas Aylward Vigors as a subfamily Alaudina of the finch familyFringillidae.[2][3] Larks are a well-defined family, partly because of the shape of theirtarsus.[4] They have multiplescutes on the hind side of their tarsi, rather than the single plate found in mostsongbirds. They also lack apessulus, the bony central structure in the syrinx ofsongbirds.[5] They were long placed at or near the beginning of the songbirds or oscines (now often calledPasseri), just after thesuboscines and before theswallows, for example in theAmerican Ornithologists' Union's first check-list.[6] Some authorities, such as theBritish Ornithologists' Union[7] and theHandbook of the Birds of the World, adhere to that placement. However, many other classifications follow theSibley-Ahlquist taxonomy in placing the larks in a large oscine subgroupPasserida (which excludescrows,shrikes and their allies,vireos, and many groups characteristic of Australia and southeastern Asia). For instance, the American Ornithologists' Union places larks just after the crows, shrikes, and vireos. At a finer level of detail, some now place the larks at the beginning of asuperfamily Sylvioidea with the swallows, various "Old World warbler" and "babbler" groups,and others.[8][9]Molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that within the Sylvioidea the larks form asisterclade to the familyPanuridae which contains a single species, thebearded reedling (Panurus biarmicus).[10] The phylogeny of larks (Alaudidae) was reviewed in 2013, leading to the recognition of the arrangement below.[11][12]
The genus level cladogram shown below is based on amolecular phylogenetic study of the larks by Per Alström and collaborators published in 2023. The subfamilies are those proposed by the authors.[13] For two species the results conflict with the taxonomy published online in July 2023 byFrank Gill,Pamela Rasmussen and David Donsker on behalf of theInternational Ornithological Committee (IOC): therusty bush lark (Mirafra rufa) andGillett's lark (Mirafra gilletti) were found to be embedded in the genusCalendulauda.[12][13] Alström and collaborators proposed that the genusMirafra should be split into four genera:Mirafra,Plocealauda,Amirafra andCorypha.[13]
Larks, or the family Alaudidae, are small- to medium-sized birds, 12 to 24 cm (4.7 to 9.4 in) in length and 15 to 75 g (0.5 to 2.6 oz) in mass.[15] The smallest larks are likely theSpizocorys species, which can weigh only around 14 g (0.49 oz) in species like thepink-billed lark and theObbia lark, while the largest lark is theTibetan lark.[16]
Like many ground birds, most lark species have long hind claws, which are thought to provide stability while standing. Most have streaked brown plumage, some boldly marked with black or white. Their dull appearancecamouflages them on the ground, especially when on the nest. They feed oninsects andseeds; though adults of most species eat seeds primarily, all species feed their young insects for at least the first week after hatching. Many species dig with their bills to uncover food. Some larks have heavy bills (reaching an extreme in thethick-billed lark) for cracking seeds open, while others have long, down-curved bills, which are especially suitable for digging.[15]
Larks are the only passerines that lose all their feathers in their firstmoult (in all species whose first moult is known). This may result from the poor quality of the chicks' feathers, which in turn may result from the benefits to the parents of switching the young to a lower-quality diet (seeds), which requires less work from the parents.[15]
In many respects, including longtertial feathers, larks resemble other ground birds such aspipits. However, in larks thetarsus (the lowest leg bone, connected to the toes) has only one set of scales on the rear surface, which is rounded. Pipits and all othersongbirds have two plates of scales on the rear surface, which meet at a protruding rear edge.[4]
Larks have more elaborate calls than most birds, and often extravagantsongs given in display flight.[15] These melodious sounds (to human ears), combined with a willingness to expand intoanthropogenic habitats—as long as these are not too intensively managed—have ensured larks a prominent place in literature and music, especially theEurasian skylark in northern Europe and thecrested lark andcalandra lark in southern Europe.
Male larks use song flights to defend their breeding territory and attract a mate. Most species build nests on the ground, usuallycups of dead grass, but in some species the nests are more complicated and partly domed. A few desert species nest very low in bushes, perhaps so circulating air can cool the nest.[15] Larks'eggs are usually speckled. The size of the clutch is very variable and ranges from the single egg laid bySclater's lark up to 6–8 eggs laid by thecalandra lark and theblack lark.[17] Larks incubate for 11 to 16 days.[15]
Larks, commonly consumed with bones intact, have historically been considered wholesome, delicate, and light game. They can be used in a number of dishes; for example, they can be stewed, broiled, or used as filling in a meat pie. Lark's tongues are reputed to have been particularly highly valued as a delicacy. In modern times, shrinking habitats made lark meat rare and hard to come by, though it can still be found in restaurants in Italy and elsewhere in southern Europe.[18]
The lark in mythology and literature stands for daybreak, as inChaucer's "The Knight's Tale", "the bisy larke, messager of day",[19] andShakespeare'sSonnet 29, "the lark at break of day arising / From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate" (11–12). The lark is also (often simultaneously) associated with "lovers and lovers' observance" (as inBernart de Ventadorn'sCan vei la lauzeta mover) and with "church services".[20] These meanings of daybreak and religious reference can be combined, as inBlake'sVisions of the Daughters of Albion, into a "spiritual daybreak"[21] to signify "passage from Earth to Heaven and from Heaven to Earth".[22] With Renaissance painters such asDomenico Ghirlandaio, the lark symbolizesChrist, with reference toJohn 16:16.[23]
English composerRalph Vaughan Williams wrote a musical setting of George Meredith's poem, completed in 1914. It was composed for violin and piano, and entitledThe Lark Ascending - A Romance. The work received its first performance in December 1920. Soon afterwards the composer arranged it for violin and orchestra, in which version it was first performed in June 1921, and this is how the work remains best-known today.
The old Welsh folk songMarwnad yr Ehedydd (The Lark's Elegy) refers to the death of "the Lark", possibly as a coded reference to the Welsh leaderOwain Glyndŵr.
The French-Canadian folk songAlouette refers to plucking feathers from a lark.[26]
Traditionally, larks are kept aspets in China. In Beijing, larks are taught to mimic the voice of other songbirds and animals. A traditional habit of the Beijingers to teach their larks 13 kinds of sounds in a strict order (called "the 13 songs of a lark", Chinese: 百灵十三套). The larks that can sing the full 13 sounds in the correct order are highly valued, while any disruption in the songs will decrease their value significantly.[27]
Larks sing early in the day, often before dawn,[28] leading to the expression "up with the lark" for a person who is awake early in the day,[29] and the termlark being applied to someone who habitually rises early in the morning.
^Bock, Walter J. (1994).History and Nomenclature of Avian Family-Group Names. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. Vol. 222. New York: American Museum of Natural History. pp. 149, 264.hdl:2246/830.
^Ames, Peter L. (1971).The morphology of the syrinx in passerine birds(PDF). Bulletin 37, Peabody Museum of Natural History. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University. p. 104. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 2021-02-25. Retrieved2018-07-22.
^Dunning, John B. Jr., ed. (2008).CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses (2nd ed.). CRC Press.ISBN978-1-4200-6444-5.
^de Juana, Eduardo; Suárez, Francisco; Ryan, Peter (2004). "Family Alaudidae (Larks)". In del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Christie, D.A. (eds.).Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 9: Cotingas to Pipits and Wagtails. Barcelona, Spain: Lynx Edicions. pp. 496–541.ISBN978-84-87334-69-6.
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