26 |
![]() |
Rufous SonglarkAlternative names: Alternate name(s): "Rufous-rumped Singing-lark", "Singing Lark*", "Skylark*" ![]() Size: 19 cm (male), 16 cm (female) [averages] Weight: 31-44 g (male), 18-31 g (female) |
![]() |
Similar |
![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() |
|
||||||
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Photos |
![]() |
ADULT |
![]() |
MALE |
![]() |
BREEDING |
Frontal view of a male Rufous Songlark in a treetop; note
the greyish appearance in harsh light
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2007]
Frontal view of a male Rufous Songlark; note the brownish appearance
in mellow light (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Boolardy Station, Murchison, WA, August 2016]
Near-frontal view of a male Rufous Songlark on an old fencepost
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Spring Gully Road, North Ensay, East Gippsland, VIC, January 2014]
Near-lateral view of a male Rufous Songlark on one of its favourite
perches, from where he often takes off on display flights
[Eulah Creek, NSW, November 2016]
Near-lateral view of a male Rufous Songlark issuing its
call;
note the black inside of its bill
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Ensay, East Gippsland, VIC, November 2019]
Lateral view of a male Rufous Songlark on one of its favourite
perches, from where he often takes off on display flights
[Eulah Creek, NSW, November 2016]
Lateral view of a male Rufous Songlark observing the observer
[Eulah Creek, NSW, November 2018]
Close-up near-dorsal view of a male Rufous Songlark observing the observer
(photo courtesy of
V. Collins)
[Macquarie Marshes NR,
NSW, May 2021]
Close-up dorsal view of a male Rufous Songlark
(photo courtesy of
V. Collins)
[Macquarie Marshes NR,
NSW, May 2021]
![]() |
NON-BREEDING |
Close-up frontal view of a male Rufous Songlark; note the
light-coloured bill
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2017]
Frontal view of a male Rufous Songlark
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Bird Billabong Road, near Arnhem Highway, NT, July 2018]
Close-up lateral view of a male Rufous Songlark
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2017]
Near-dorsal view of a male Rufous Songlark; this is the bird whose
calls were
recorded on 14 April 2017
[Macquarie
Marshes NR, NSW, April 2017]
Near-dorsal view of a male Rufous Songlark; note the greyish
appearance in bad light (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Boolardy Station, Murchison, WA, August 2016]
Dorsal view of a Rufous Songlark hiding in the underbrush of open
woodland
[Near Barraba, NSW, October 2012]
![]() |
FEMALE |
Close-up full-frontal view of a female Rufous Songlark
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2019]
Close-up frontal view of a female Rufous Songlark
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2019]
Close-up frontal/ventral view of a female Rufous Songlark
[Eulah Creek, NSW, November 2016]
Close-up near-frontal/ventral view of a female Rufous Songlark
[Eulah Creek, NSW, November 2016]
Near-lateral view of a female Rufous Songlark
(photo courtesy of
V. Collins)
[Eulah Creek, NSW, March 2021]
Near-lateral view of a curious female Rufous Songlark inspecting
the photographer who had stopped on a dirt
road
[October 2008]
Lateral view of a female Rufous Songlark
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2008]
Dorsal view of a female Rufous Songlark
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2019]
![]() |
PAIR |
Male Rufous Songlark, right, wooing a female
[Near Narrabri, NSW, October 2021]
Sex unknown |
Near-frontal view of a Rufous Songlark
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Kilcowera Station, between Thargomindah and Hungerford, QLD, June 2020]
Lateral view of a Rufous Songlark
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Kilcowera Station, between Thargomindah and Hungerford, QLD, June 2020]
Near-dorsal view of a Rufous Songlark
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Kilcowera Station, between Thargomindah and Hungerford, QLD, June 2020]
Dorsal view of a Rufous Songlark
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Kilcowera Station, between Thargomindah and Hungerford, QLD, June 2020]
![]() |
IMMATURE/JUVENILE |
Frontal view of a juvenile Rufous Songlark; note the conspicuous
striation (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Opalton, QLD, June 2021]
Frontal view of an immature Rufous Songlark in heavy moult
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Ensay, East Gippsland, VIC, November 2019]
Near-lateral view of a juvenile Rufous Songlark
striation (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Opalton, QLD, June 2021]
Near-lateral view of an immature Rufous Songlark in heavy moult
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Ensay, East Gippsland, VIC, November 2019]
Frontal view of a juvenile Rufous Songlark in our rural
garden
[20 km South of Narrabri, NSW, December 2005]
Near-frontal view of a female Rufous Songlark sheltering in a
Wilga tree;
note the conspicuous streaking on the chest
[Eulah Creek, NSW, December 2012]
Lateral view of a juvenile Rufous Songlark
[20 km South of Narrabri, NSW, December 2005]
Fledgling Rufous Songlark calling to be fed
[Maules Creek, NSW, December 2011]
Its sibling had the same idea
[Maules Creek, NSW, December 2011]
Frontal view of a fledgling Rufous Songlark recovering in a tree
after a cat attack
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2014]
Lateral view of a fledgling Rufous Songlark recovering in a tree
after a cat attack
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2014]
![]() |
Breeding information |
Breeding season: Aug - Feb | Eggs: 3 - 4 | Incubation period: 11 days | Fledging age: ca. 12-13? days |
Note that Rufous Songlarks have a very short incubation period.
Nest building: Female | Incubation: Female | Dependent care: Female |
While the male marks his territory, the female takes on the full load of caring for the offspring, from start to finish.
![]() |
Nest |
"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal] |
Type: Basket | Material: Grass | Height above ground: N/A |
Rufous Songlarks are ground-nesting birds.
View from above into a Rufous Songlark's nest that was found in
tall grass right
by the side of a road;
the (third and) youngest chick of this clutch has just hatched and
the female has not yet removed the broken egg shell
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Doctors Flat Road, Ensay South, East Gippsland, VIC, November 2015]
This female Rufous Songlark is the owner of the nest shown above
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Doctors Flat Road, Ensay South, East Gippsland, VIC, November 2015]
Somewhere under this African Boxthorn or in the wild growth next
to it, all of which are located under a eucalypt tree, there is
a Rufous Songlark nest; we did not try to find the nest itself
[Narrabri, NSW, October 2013]
Male Rufous Songlark marking its territory, singing right next
to the undergrowth with the nest and the female
[Narrabri, NSW, October 2013]
Female Rufous Songlark coming out of the undergrowth to have a quick
look at what is going on outside, before vanishing again
[Narrabri, NSW, October 2013]
![]() |
Eggs |
"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay] |
Size: 23 x 17 mm | Colour: Light-brown, with copious dark-brown speckles | Shape: Tapered oval |
View from above into a Rufous Songlark's nest that was found in
tall grass right
by the side of a road;
the (third and) youngest chick of this clutch has just hatched and
the female has not yet removed the broken egg shell
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Doctors Flat Road, Ensay South, East Gippsland, VIC, November 2015]
![]() |
Behaviour |
Social behaviour: Territorial | Mobility: Migratory | Elementary unit: Pair |
The males are prolific singers, either while perched as shown in a photo below or in flight. The display flight is slow, while chirping with curved back. They move around various conspicuous places to mark the boundaries of their territory.
We have noticed that the point in time when male Rufous Songlarks start marking their territories is very sensitive to local conditions. There are differences over distances as short as a few km, with only a tiny change in altitude over such a distance, with the birds at higher altitude starting singing later than those below. At the start of the 2016 breeding season we heard a male Rufous Songlark singing at Pilliga in late July, when further to the East, towards the Great Dividing Range, their counterparts were still silent.
Male Rufous Songlark starting its territorial song
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2007]
Here the female Rufous Songlark he is trying to lure; she is sitting
lower in the same tree
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2007]
Different male Rufous Songlark issuing its call from a vantage point
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Spring Gully Road, North Ensay, East Gippsland, VIC, January 2014]
This is the male Rufous Songlark whose calls were recorded on 2
October 2014
[Near Narrabri, NSW, October 2014]
Rufous Songlarks are ground-nesting birds. As such they need tall grass and/or messy undergrowth for nesting. In 2009 we slashed our paddock in winter and removed messy undergrowth. Since then we have not seen Rufous Songlarks on our property (although we do leave tall grass standing on parts of the property at a distance of 200 m from the house). This may relate to the fact that we regularly observe feral cats in the area.
Cryptic
behaviour of a female Rufous Songlark, relying on its camouflaged
plumage
to avoid attracting attention, rather than running (or flying) away
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2019]
Female Rufous Songlark cocking its tail, in a way very similar to
Rufous Bush Robins
[Eulah Creek, NSW, December 2012]
A Rufous Songlark was spotted by us at Eulah Creek, 20 km East of Narrabri, in August 2008, i.e. at the end of winter, when the nights still brought regular frost. It is not clear whether they had left for the winter (which was mild overall) or had decided to stay, like other normally migratory birds. The day after major rainfall, with associated northerly ahead of the front, the first territorial calls started ringing around the property at the beginning of September 2008. As a contrast, territorial calls of a Rufous Songlark could be heard around our place in the 2010/11 season starting in December.
Male Rufous Songlark "ducking" like a duck
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2008]
![]() |
Food, Diet |
We have seen a Rufous Songlark take a small spider (photo below).
Female Rufous Songlark bringing a small spider for its chicks
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Doctors Flat Road, Ensay South, East Gippsland, VIC, November 2015]
Female Rufous Songlark with its prey
[Pilliga West SCA,
near Pilliga, NSW, September 2018]
Female Rufous Songlark with a grasshopper it has just caught
(accidentally together with a twig)
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2019]
![]() |
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.
Rufous Songlarks will usually call only during the breeding season.
rufslrk_20201219_2.m4a | (NW NSW) | Contact call (male) | © MD | |
rufslrk_20141006_5.mp3 | (NW NSW) | Contact calls (male) | © MD | |
rufslrk_20211009.m4a | (NW NSW) | Contact calls? (female) | © MD | |
rufslrk_20210830.m4a | (NW NSW) | Q&A (male+female) | © MD | |
rufslrk_20181112_3.m4a | (NW NSW) | Territorial song (male; in display flight) | © MD | |
rufslrk_20201219.m4a | (NW NSW) | Territorial song (male; in display flight) | © MD | |
rufslrk_20210830_2.m4a | (NW NSW) | Female response to male (territorial display + contact calls) | © MD | |
rufslrk_20161229_1.m4a | (NW NSW) | Alarm calls (female; near nest?) | © MD | |
rufslrk_20181112.m4a | (NW NSW) | Begging calls (chicks) & territorial calls (male) | © MD | |
rufslrk_20181112_2.m4a | (NW NSW) | Begging calls (chicks) | © MD |
More Rufous Songlark sound recordings are available at
xeno-canto.org
.