Mirafra is a genus of lark in the family Alaudidae. Some Mirafra species are called "larks", while others are called "bush larks". They are all found in Africa except for the singing bush lark that is found through South Asia to Australia.
Taxonomy
The genus
Mirafra was introduced in 1821 by the American naturalist
Thomas Horsfield to accommodate a single species,
Mirafra javanica the singing bush lark, which is therefore considered as the
type species.
The derivation of the genus name is unknown.
A 2023 molecular phylogenetic study of the lark family Alaudidae by the Swedish ornithologist Per Alström and his collaborators found that the genus Mirafra contained deep internal genetic divergences. They therefore split Mirafra into four genera, each corresponding to a major clade. Species were moved to Plocealauda, Amirafra and Corypha leaving only seven species remaining in Mirafra.
Extant species
The genus contains seven species:
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| southern Africa. |
| East Africa. |
| Mauritania and Senegal to Niger, eastern Chad, southern Sudan and northern South Sudan |
| northern Kenya |
| Australia and much of Southeast Asia. |
| South Africa (Eastern Cape, the Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, and North West Province), Botswana and Zimbabwe |
| western Chad, eastern Sudan, northeastern South Sudan, south-central Ethiopia, and from Uganda and western Kenya to central Tanzania |
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Former species
Some authorities, either presently or formerly, recognize several additional species as belonging to the genus Mirafra, including:
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Short-clawed lark (as Mirafra chuana)
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Dusky lark (as Mirafra nigricans)
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Rufous-rumped lark (as Mirafra erythropygia or Mirafra nigricans erythropygia)
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Indian desert finch-lark (as Mirafra phoenicuroides)
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Rufous-tailed lark (as Mirafra phoenicura)
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Madagascan lark (as Mirafra hova)
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Sabota lark (as Mirafra sabota)
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Bradfield's lark (as Mirafra naevia)
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Pink-breasted lark (as Mirafra poecilosterna)
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Foxy lark (as Mirafra alopex)
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Masai fawn-coloured lark (as Mirafra intercedens)
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Fawn-coloured lark (as Mirafra africanoides)
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Karoo lark (as Mirafra albescens or Mirafra nivosa)
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Red lark (as Mirafra burra)
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Dune lark (as Mirafra erythrochlamys)
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Barlow's lark (as Mirafra erythrochlamys barlowi)
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Rudd's lark (as Mirafra ruddi)
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Archer's lark (as Mirafra archeri)
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Sidamo lark (as Mirafra sidamoensis)
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Ngaundere sun lark (as Mirafra strümpelli)
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Uele sun lark (as Mirafra bucolica)
