Woodlark

About the Woodlark

The woodlark or wood lark (Lullula arborea) is the only extant species in the lark genus Lullula. It is found across most of Europe, the Middle East, western Asia and the mountains of north Africa. It is mainly resident (non-migratory) in the west of its range, but eastern populations of this passerine bird are more migratory, moving further south in winter.

There are two subspecies of woodlark, L. a. arborea and L. a. pallida. The former is native to northern regions of Europe, while the latter can be found in the south of the woodlark's range. Their diet is mostly composed of seeds but also includes insects during the breeding period. A comparatively small bird, the woodlark is between 13.5 and 15 centimetres (5.3 and 5.9 in) long and roughly 20% shorter than the skylark. It is a brown bird with a pale underside and has a white-tipped tail.

The woodlark was described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae and given the binomial name Alauda arborea. This binomial name is identical to the Latin name used in 1676 by English ornithologist Francis Willughby in his Ornithologiae libri tres. The woodlark... Wikipedia →