The sabota lark ( Calendulauda sabota) is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is found in southern Africa in its natural of dry savannah, moist savannah, and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. It is generally sedentary but local movements occur in drier regions. The species name is derived from sebotha or sebothé, the Tswana language generic name for a lark.
Taxonomy and systematics
Formerly, the Sabota lark was classified as belonging to the genus
Mirafra until moved to
Calendulauda in 2009.
Not all authorities have followed this re-classification.
Two distinctive taxa of this species are respectively known as the
large-billed Sabota lark and
small-billed Sabota lark. The large-billed subspecies are found in the dry to arid west and south of its range, while the small-billed subspecies are native to mesic woodlands of the north and east.
Subspecies
Nine
subspecies are recognized:
-
Congo Sabota lark C. s. plebeja (Jean Cabanis, 1875) — Originally described as a separate species in the genus Alauda. Found on the Cabinda Province coast of north-western Angola
-
Benguella Sabota lark C. s. ansorgei (Sclater, WL, 1926) — Found in western Angola
-
Bradfield's lark C. s. naevia (Strickland, 1853) — Formerly, some authorities considered it to be a separate species in Calendulauda or Mirafra. Found in north-western Namibia. It has a larger bill than the other subspecies of C. sabota.
-
Ovampo Sabota lark C. s. waibeli (Hermann Grote, 1922) — Found in northern Namibia and northern Botswana
-
C. s. herero (Roberts, 1936) — Found in southern and eastern Namibia, north-western South Africa. Confusingly, this subspecies is also sometimes referred to as Bradfield's lark.
-
C. s. sabota (Smith, 1836) — Found in eastern Botswana, central Zimbabwe and north-eastern South Africa
-
C. s. sabotoides (Roberts, 1932) — Found in central and southern Botswana, western Zimbabwe and northern South Africa
-
C. s. suffusca (Phillip Clancey, 1958) — Found in south-eastern Zimbabwe, southern Mozambique and eastern South Africa
-
C. s. bradfieldi (Roberts, 1928) — Found in central South Africa
Gallery
Sabota Lark - Etosha 0005 (16761249109).jpg| C. s. herero in Etosha National Park, Namibia
(large-billed)
Calendulauda sabota ssp. bradfieldi, crop.jpg| C. s. bradfieldi near Ritchie, Northern Cape
(large-billed)
Sabota lark, Calendulauda sabota, at Mapungubwe National Park, Limpopo, South Africa (18126532598).jpg| C. s. sabotoides at Mapungubwe, Limpopo
(small-billed)
Sabota lark (Calendulauda sabota waibeli).jpg|cf. C. s. waibeli, in Etosha National Park, Namibia
(small-billed)
External links
