Passeriformes / Alaudidae / Alauda
Eurasian Skylark
Alauda arvensis · 云雀
Introduction
A passerine bird in the lark family, Alaudidae. It is widespread across Europe and the Palearctic, with introduced populations in Australia, New Zealand, and the Hawaiian Islands. Inhabits open farmland and heath. Distinctive for the male's song delivered in hovering flight from heights of 50 to 100 metres.
Description
Length is 18–19 cm (7.1–7.5 in). Plumage is streaked greyish-brown above and on the breast, with a buff-white belly. Sexes are alike in coloration, though the male has broader wings than the female. Features a short blunt crest on the head that can be raised and lowered. In flight, displays a short tail and short broad wings edged with white.
Identification
Key field marks include white edges on the tail and rear wing edges, visible when flying away but not towards the observer. Identified by the male's long, unbroken, clear bubbling warble delivered while rising, circling, or hovering high in the air. Songs typically last two to three minutes but can exceed 20 minutes later in the mating season.
Distribution & Habitat
Breeds across most of Europe, Asia, and mountains of north Africa. Western populations are mainly resident; eastern populations are migratory, moving south in winter. Eleven recognized subspecies include A. a. arvensis (northern, western, and central Europe) and A. a. japonica (Japan and Ryukyu Islands). Introduced to New Zealand (since 1864), Australia (since 1850, widespread in southeast), Hawaiian Islands (since 1865, now restricted to Hawaii and Maui), and Vancouver Island, Canada (since 1903).
Behavior & Ecology
Forages by walking on the ground, eating insects, seeds, and young leaves; swallows seeds without removing husks. Breeding begins at one year of age, starting late March or early April. The female builds a ground nest in a shallow depression lined with grass. Clutch size is 3 to 5 eggs, incubated by the female for 11 days. Chicks leave the nest after 8 to 10 days and fledge at 18 to 20 days. Both parents feed the young. Up to four broods may be raised in a single season.
Conservation
In the UK, numbers have declined since the 1970s, with an estimated 4-10% decline over the last 10 years and 6-28% over the last 22-25 years as of 2017. Primary threats are changes in farming practices, specifically the shift from spring to autumn cereal planting, which creates dense summer fields unsuitable for foraging. Conservation measures include Environmental Stewardship Scheme grants for farmers to grow spring cereals and leave stubble untreated.
Culture
The collective noun is an 'exaltation'. The verb 'skylark' means to play tricks or frolic. Subject of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley, George Meredith, and Ted Hughes, and music such as Ralph Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending. It is the bird emblem of Kumamoto Prefecture.
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Taxonomy
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Alaudidae
- Genus
- Alauda
Subspecies (11)
-
Alauda arvensis armenica
Transcaucasia and eastern Türkiye to southwestern Iran (Zagros and Elburz mountains)
Data Sources
Species description from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Bird images and sounds sourced from GBIF, contributed by citizen scientists worldwide under Creative Commons licenses.
Taxonomy data from AviList 2025.
