Large-billed Lark

Galerida magnirostris

Karoo and grasslands. Heavily market lark with short tail and heavy bill with yellow base.

Larks

Endemic

Description

Common endemic resident. A robust, heavily marked lark with a fairly short tail, heavy bill with a yellow base and well-marked upper parts. The song is a short, musical ‘chit-whitleooo-leooo’ like a rusty gate being opened, with variations and repeated at brief intervals. Occurs in grassland, montane grassland, Karoo and wheat fields, being especially common on grassy roadside verges. Also common in high-altitude scrub in Lesotho.

Quick Facts

Bird Family

Small, sombrely coloured terrestrial birds with confusingly similar, nondescript plumage patterns consisting of greyish speckled upperparts and pale underparts, usually with some streaking or spotting on the breast. Many species show regional plumage variations, palest or greyest in the north or west. Immature birds resemble adults but are generally more speckled. They are best identified by the male's call as well as behaviour and habitat. Most species tend to run rather than fly away when approached; males of many species have prolonged aerial display flights.