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24

Calandra Lark (Melanocorypha calandra) Alternate name(s): "European Calandra-lark" German name(s): "Kalanderlerche" Size: 18-20 cm; wing span 38-44 cm Body mass: 53-73 g (male); 44-66 g (female) Wing loading [g/cm2]: 0.15-0.28 (male), 0.13-0.25 (female)

Europe: Family Group 24 Family Group 24 Table White Wagtail Western Yellow Wagtail Grey Wagtail Tawny Pipit Berthelot's Pipit Red-throated Pipit Tree Pipit Meadow Pipit Water Pipit Eurasian Rock Pipit Greater Short-toed Lark Calandra Lark Woodlark Eurasian Skylark Bearded Reedling House Sparrow Tree Sparrow Spanish Sparrow Rock Sparrow Trumpeter Finch European Serin Atlantic Canary Red-fronted Serin Eurasian Siskin Common Redpoll Arctic Redpoll Twite Common Linnet Brambling Common Chaffinch European Goldfinch Eurasian Bullfinch Hawfinch Common Crossbill Common Rosefinch Yellowhammer Cirl Bunting Common Reed Bunting Little Bunting Ortolan Bunting Black-headed Bunting Corn Bunting Rock Bunting House Bunting Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Similar species

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

Physical description Click here for a physical description Calandra Larks are a large larks. Their plumage is highly cryptic. With the exception of some faint streaking on the breast and black patches on the sides of the breast, their underparts are off-white to creamy. The upperparts are streaked and scalloped light- and dark-brown, with wide creamy margins on the wing feathers. The sides of the head, including prominent, broad supercilia and also the lores, are mostly off-white to creamy, except for the pale-brown ear coverts. Worn plumage in spring looks more greyish than fresh plumage in autumn. The eyes have dark irises. The strong, slightly down-curved bill has a yellowish to horn-coloured lower mandible and a grey upper mandible. Legs and feet are greyish-pink.

Taxonomy, classification See Calandra Lark at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Calandra Lark is available HERE . The Calandra Lark is a partly sedentary, partly migratory species with 4 extant races. Their overall distribution ranges from Iberia and north-western Africa in the West, via the Mediterranean, Asia Minor, around the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, into the Levant and into southern central Asia, near the border of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan with China (for details see a field guide). Nominate race "calandra", the "Western Calandra Lark", is found from southern Europe and north-western Africa to Asia Minor. Race "psammochroa", the "Eastern Calandra Lark", is present in a region spanning from northern Iraq and northern Iran to Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. Race "gaza" resides in the area from eastern Syria and south-eastern Turkey to south-western Iran. Race "hebraica", the "Levant Calandra Lark", populates southern central Turkey and north-western Syria to Israel and western Jordan. In Europe only the nominate race of Calandra Larks, "calandra", (the "European Calandra Lark") is found. Their range within Europe extends from much of Iberia via the Cote d'Azure to Sardinia , parts of southern Italy and the eastern Adriatic coastal fringe into parts of Greece. Along the eastern coastal fringe of the Black Sea they are found only during winter, but northward of the Black Sea and towards the Caspian Sea their sedentary range continues towards the Caucasus and the northern coastline of the Caspian Sea. Apart from south-western Russia, where the species is partly migratory, extending its breeding range northward, they are sedentary throughout southern Europe. There are some reports of stragglers reaching Britain and southern Scandinavia. Calandra Larks have a preference for breeding on natural steppe, these days also in cultivated fields. While being found in pairs during the breeding season, they can form relatively large flocks during winter.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "calandra" J. Pires reports finding Calandra Larks, nominate race "calandra", semi-regularly in the area from the Tejo Estuary Nature Park to Mora, Evora, Portugal. All sighting and photographic information presented on this page has kindly been contributed by J. Pires.

Photos

Race "calandra"

This race is also called the "European Calandra Lark".

ADULT

MALE

Two distant lateral views of a male Calandra Lark showing clearly the black patch on the side of its neck; this is the bird whose calls were recorded on 8 April 2023 (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vale Goncalinho, Castro Verde, Beja, Portugal, April 2023]

Lateral view of a male Calandra Lark in display flight, wings up; this is the bird whose calls were recorded on 8 April 2023 (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vale Goncalinho, Castro Verde, Beja, Portugal, April 2023]

Lateral view of a male Calandra Lark in display flight, wings down; this is the bird whose calls were recorded on 8 April 2023 (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vale Goncalinho, Castro Verde, Beja, Portugal, April 2023]

Near-frontal view of a Calandra Lark (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2024]

Near-lateral view of a Calandra Lark (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2024]

Near-lateral view of a Calandra Lark; note the black patch on the side of the chest
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, June 2024]

Near-lateral view of a Calandra Lark, with a second visible behind it (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, June 2021]

Near-dorsal view of a Calandra Lark; note the strong bill and the prominent supercilium (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, June 2021]

Near-dorsal view of a Calandra Lark (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2019]

Behaviour

In most of their European range, Calandra Larks are sedentary. Only in south-eastern Europe, north of the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, part of the population is migratory.

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.

More Calandra Lark 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.