NL·0247Herbarium of the Nature Library
- Name
- Alauda arvensis
- Family
- Alaudidae
- Native to
- Europe, North Africa, Turkey and the Middle East across Central Asia and Siberia to the Pacific; introduced to New Zealand, Australia and Vancouver Island
- Habitat
- Temperate grassland, Farmland, Steppe, Moorland
On eBird ↗
Eurasian Skylark
Live sightings near you, the range map, bar charts of when it is seen, and Macaulay Library photos and recordings.
Eurasian skylark
Alauda arvensis
Also calledChakavak (Persian) · Qubbara (Arabic) · Tarla kuşu (Turkish) · Feldlerche (German) · Alouette des champs (French) · Alondra común (Spanish)
A streaky brown bird of open fields that rises almost vertically into the sky, hanging there for minutes on end while pouring out an unbroken torrent of song. It has declined sharply in intensively farmed parts of Europe.
The Eurasian skylark, commonly referred to in Europe as the lark, is a passerine bird in the lark family, Alaudidae. It is a widespread species found across Europe and the Palearctic with introduced populations in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and on the Hawaiian Islands. It is a bird of open farmland and heath, known for the song of the male, which is delivered in hovering flight from heights of 50 to 100 metres. The sexes are alike. It is streaked greyish-brown above and on the breast and has a buff-white belly. Wikipedia
What it can do
- iSings continuously in hovering flight, sometimes for over 10 minutes, at heights that make it hard to see
- iiNests on the open ground, needing short, sparse vegetation
- iiiSong contains hundreds of syllables and varies between local neighbourhoods
- ivNorthern populations migrate in large daytime flocks in autumn
In the field
Field marks
- aStreaked brown upperparts and a streaked breast band
- bShort crest that can be raised
- cWhite outer tail feathers and a narrow white trailing edge to the wing
- dStout bill and long hind claw
- Voice
- Song a long, high, rapid and unbroken warbling delivered in flight; call a liquid, rolling 'chirrup'.
- Not to be confused with
- Woodlark is shorter-tailed with a bold pale eyebrow meeting on the nape and no white trailing edge, and sings a slow, descending 'lu-lu-lu'. Crested lark has a long spiky crest and no white on the tail sides. Meadow pipit is slimmer with a thinner bill.
- Where to see it
- Arable land, downs and coastal grassland across Europe; steppes of Kazakhstan; winter fields in North Africa and the Middle East.
- When
- Resident in western Europe; summer visitor in the north and east; song Feb–Jul
Listen
Looking for field recordings…
Life & habits
- Diet
- Seeds and leaves in winter; insects and spiders in the breeding season
- Habitat
- Arable fields, grassland, steppe, dunes, moorland
- Size
- 18–19 cm; 33–45 g
- Lifespan
- Typically 2–5 years
Climbs on fluttering wings while singing, hangs high in the sky, then parachutes down in steps before dropping silently to the ground.
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Native range
Europe, North Africa, Turkey and the Middle East across Central Asia and Siberia to the Pacific; introduced to New Zealand, Australia and Vancouver Island
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the old herbals & bestiaries
Woodcuts and engravings matched from the Source Library’s scanned books by name. Plates marked “relative” show a close kin rather than this exact species. Click a plate to read the page it came from, with translation.
Theater of Earthly Creatures
Anonymous · 1672 · p.260
The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands, Vol. 1
Mark Catesby · 1777 · p.116
The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands, Vol. 1
Mark Catesby · 1777 · p.113
History of Animals, Book I: On Viviparous Quadrupeds
Conrad Gessner · 1554 · p.263
History of Animals, Book I: On Viviparous Quadrupeds
Conrad Gessner · 1554 · p.263
Books on Marine Fishes
Guillaume Rondelet · 1554 · p.226
A voyage to the islands Madera Barbados Jamaica Vol. 1
Hans Sloane · 1707 · p.633
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Alauda arvensis in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
Marginalia
Shelley's 'To a Skylark' (1820) and George Meredith's poem that inspired Vaughan Williams's 'The Lark Ascending' (1914) made it the voice of the English countryside, and 'Chakavak' is the name of a melodic section (gusheh) in the Homayun mode of Persian classical music.
Curiosity
Shakespeare's Juliet argues with Romeo over whether they hear the nightingale or the lark, the bird that signals dawn and his departure.
Kinship
Photographs: iNaturalist contributors under the licences shown. Records: GBIF.org. Historical plates: Source Library (CC BY-SA 4.0; originals public domain). Summary text: Nature Library editors and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Medicinal and edibility notes are historical and educational, not advice. iNaturalist taxon 7347.