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26

Brown Songlark

(Cincloramphus cruralis)
Alternate name(s): "Black-breasted Lark", "Harvest-bird", "Singing Lark*", "Skylark*"
Aboriginal name(s): "yedjoolop*" (WA)

Size: 23-25 cm (male), 18-19 cm (female)
Weight: 66-82 g (male), 28-36 g (female)

Similar
species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description

Click here for a physical description

Taxonomy, classification

See Brown Songlark at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

Photos

ADULT

MALE

BREEDING

Near-frontal view of a male Brown Songlark in breeding plumage
[Near Cryon, NSW, March 2022]

Near-lateral view of a male Brown Songlark in breeding plumage marking its territory (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Clarendon, Gatton, QLD, November 2019]

Lateral view of a male Brown Songlark in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Lake Tyrrell, VIC, October 2019]

Lateral view of a male Brown Songlark in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Lake Tyrrell, VIC, October 2019]

Lateral view of a male Brown Songlark in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Lake Tyrrell, VIC, October 2019]

Lateral view of a male Brown Songlark - note the dark appearance of its wet breeding plumage
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Near Tungamah, VIC, October 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a male Brown Songlark in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Clarendon, October 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a male Brown Songlark in breeding plumage
[Eulah Creek, NSW, February 2019]

Lateral view of a male Brown Songlark in breeding plumage singing in its display flight
[Goran Lake, NSW, October 2011]

The same male Brown Songlark as shown above, viewed at a slightly different angle
[Goran Lake, NSW, October 2011]

This photo shows clearly the semi-translucent appearance of the wing feathers of a male Brown Songlark
[Goran Lake, NSW, October 2011]

Lateral view of a male Brown Songlark in transitional plumage, just starting to moult, while already seen busy marking its territory with display flights and territorial calls
[Near Bellata, NSW, September 2015]

Near-dorsal view of a male Brown Songlark in transitional plumage
[Near Bellata, NSW, October 2013]

Near-dorsal view of a male Brown Songlark in transitional plumage
[Near Bellata, NSW, October 2013]

NON-BREEDING

Close-up frontal view of a male Brown Songlark still primarily in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Winton, QLD, August 2022]

Close-up near-lateral view of a male Brown Songlark still primarily in non-breeding plumage issuing its call (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Winton, QLD, August 2022]

Close-up lateral view of a male Brown Songlark still primarily in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Winton, QLD, August 2022]

Close-up near-lateral view of a male Brown Songlark still primarily in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Winton, QLD, August 2022]

Lateral view of a male Brown Songlark in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Roxby Downs, SA, June 2022]

Lateral view of a male Brown Songlark in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Erldunda, NT, June 2023]

FEMALE

Frontal view of a female Brown Songlark; note the black belly patch (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Roxby Downs, SA, June 2022]

Frontal view of a female Brown Songlark looking sideways (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Roxby Downs, SA, June 2022]

Lateral view of a female Brown Songlark - note the characteristic black belly patch
[Goran Lake, NSW, October 2013]

Near-dorsal view of a female Brown Songlark looking back
[Goran Lake, NSW, October 2013]

Slightly different near-dorsal views of a female Brown Songlark - tail down (left) and tail cocked (right)
[Goran Lake, NSW, October 2013]

This female Brown Songlark was found with its foot stuck in sticky bitumen and had to be rescued by the photographer
(photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[50 km N of Leinster, Northern Goldfields, WA, December 2014]

Near-dorsal view of a female Brown Songlark
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a female Brown Songlark (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Samsonvale, QLD, December 2019]

PAIR

Close-up near-lateral/lateral view of a pair of Brown Songlarks on the ground, with the male still primarily in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Winton, QLD, August 2022]

Near-dorsal view of a pair of Brown Songlarks, with the male on the right and the much paler female on the left; this photo was taken at the end of the breeding season, when both birds had already moulted into their non-breeding plumage
[Near Bourke, NSW, March 2008]


Dorsal views of a pair of Brown Songlarks
[Near Bourke, NSW, March 2008]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Frontal view of a female Brown Songlark, as indicated by the black belly patch; the heavy streaking and pale gape indicate that this bird may still be a juvenile (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Birdsville Development Road, QLD, September 2022]

Lateral view of a juvenile(?) female Brown Songlark
[Near Burren Junction, NSW, May 2020]

Lateral view of a juvenile(?) female Brown Songlark
[Near Burren Junction, NSW, May 2020]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial Mobility: Migratory Elementary unit: Pair

(Slightly unsharp) lateral view of a moulting female Brown Songlark on a sealed road - this behaviour is more often observed in Australasian Pipits (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Goondiwindi, QLD, March 2018]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

brnslrk_20220218.m4a (NW NSW) Territorial calls
(male in display flight)
© MD

More Brown Songlark sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.