Sharpe's Lark

Characteristics  

Rufous Head 

Plain, copper-red upper parts  

Buff outer tail feathers 

Feathers have a black spot at the tip and edged with a pale buff 

Dark rufous nape and neck sides  

Dark rufous or chestnut back feathers margined with buff and with a black subterminal V-shaped bar  

Rump, back, uppertail-coverts are brownish-black with gray markings  

Innermost secondaries are brownish-black  

Outermost secondaries of the wings are rufous  

The remaining parts of the wings are pale brown with a black line running parallel to the shaft near the margins of the outer web  

White wing tips  

Part of the primaries are a light chestnut, pale brown  

Inner primaries are chestnut with a blackish-brownish tip  

Underwing-coverts are a deep buff  

Primary coverts are rufous  

Central rectrices are a blackish-brown mottled with black in the middle that grades into rufous towards the outer edges of the webs that are margined with white  

An irregular black line runs along the web near its margin  

The remainder of the rectrices are blackish-brown margined with white  

The outermost rectrix has a pale buff outer web  

The superciliary stripe is a pale buff  

Ear-coverts and cheeks are white spotted and streaked with black  

White throat and neck sides  

Buff breast that is streaked and spotted with a brownish-black color  

Lower parts, flanks, and undertail-coverts are a pale buff  

Long, slender bill that is horn-colored  

Tarsi and feet are flesh-colored  

Brown irides  

Sharpe’s Lark looks similar to the Rufous-Naped Lark (Corypha africana or Mirafra africana depending on the checklist) 

This species can be distinguished from her relative, the Rufous-Naped Lark, by her white throat, buff underparts tinged with white (deep buff on Rufous-Naped), and completely rufous primary coverts (blacks streaks on Rufous-Naped) (Elliot, 1897) 

Habitat 

Grassy plains in Somalia 

Rocky open plains in Ethiopia (IUCN Red List) 

Range

The range of Sharpe's Lark mainly encompasses Somalia with the exception of one unconfirmed sighting in Ethiopia

This range overlaps or is contiguous to the ranges of the Somali Lark (Corpyha or Mirafra somalica) and Ash's Lark (Mirafra ashi)

This overlap prompted some speculation of Sharpe's Lark being conspecific to the Somali Lark or Ash's Lark until a study by Per Alström (2023) and a team of researchers confirmed the distinct species status of this bird in 2023.

Other Information 

Life Span- 3.10 years (IUCN Red List) 

Also known as the Russet Lark

According to the IUCN that did its last assessment in 2021, Sharpe’s Lark is listed as Endangered. Even though the population was never quantified, it is thought to be small and under threat from habitat loss. Sharpe’s Lark is known to be rare within her small range in Somalia. This species’ extent of occurrence is 21,200 m (IUCN Red List). 

For a distribution map of the species, click here.

This species has only been spotted a handful of times since it was first described by D.G Elliot in 1897. The first specimen was found in the north of the Silo Plain in Somalia. Elliot named the bird after his friend, Dr. R.B Sharpe, who worked at the British Museum of Natural History. (Elliot, 1897).  

Sharpe’s Lark was spotted twice from two sites in northwestern Somalia. Recent surveys investigated these sites but did not find locate Sharpe’s Lark (IUCN Red List). 

While thought to be endemic to Somalia, one sighting was recorded from Ethiopia in 1975. The bird was seen in an open, rocky terrain in the Somalia-Masai district southeast of the Ethiopian Highland. This area was and remains under intense pressure from agricultural expansion. This was last sighting of the species to date (Fjeldsa and Klerk, 2001). 

Not much is known about Sharpe’s Lark other than what the species looks like and how the species is endangered due to habitat loss stemming from agricultural expansion and overgrazing (IUCN Red List). In addition, the heightened political violence and civil unrest in Somalia makes future surveys to look for the species next to impossible at this point due to safety concerns.

Order: Passeriformes 

Family: Alaudidae 

Genus: Corypha/Mirafra 

Species: Corypha sharpii/Mirafra sharpii 

Before 2023, there was considerable debate over Sharpe’s Lark status as a distinct species. Some taxonomists and ornithologists lumped it with the Rufous-Naped Lark as one of her 11 subspecies while others kept it separate due to the morphological differences between the two species. Those who treated Sharpe’s Lark as a subspecies of the Rufous-Naped Lark also saw the bird as the same as the Somali Lark (Corphya or Mirafra somalica).  

The debate over Sharpe’s Lark’s dubious species status changed when a team of researchers led by Per Alström revealed the full genetic diversity of the Alaudidae family in a groundbreaking study. They proved that there was enough of a genetic divergence between Sharpe’s Lark and the Rufous-Naped Lark to prove that the former was indeed a separate species. Along with Sharpe’s Lark, Alström et al., also confirmed the distinct species status of 9 other birds that were originally seen as subspecies of the Rufous-Naped Lark. These new species include:  

1. Highland Lark (Corypha or Mirafra kurrae)  

2. Sentinel Lark (Corypha or Mirafra athi)  

3. Plains Lark (Corypha or Mirafra kabalii)  

4. Plateau Lark (Corypha or Mirafra nigrescens)  

5. Red-Winged Lark (Corypha or Mirafra hypermetra)  

6. Kidepo Lark (Corypha or Mirafra kidepoensis)  

7. Cape Clapper Lark (Corypha or Mirafra apiata)  

8. Eastern Clapper Lark (Corypha or Mirafra fasciolata)   

9. Somali Lark (Corypha or Mirafra somalica) 

While confirming the species status of several larks, they also downgraded one: Ash's Lark (Corypha or Mirafra ashi). They determined that this species was the same as the Somali Lark.  

To better represent the diversity of the Alaudidae family in their genus-level phylogeny, Alström et al., replaced the Mirafra genus and split into four new genera: Corypha, Amirafra, Plocealauda, and Calendulauda. According to this new phylogeny, Sharpe’s Lark, the Rufous-Naped Lark, and their relatives are now members of the new genus Corypha. Not all checklists have accepted this change (Alström et al., 2023).