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| Skylark Alauda arvensis [Linnaeus, 1758] | |
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Other Names
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Trends & Distribution
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Breeding & Survival
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Biometrics
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Books & Links
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Order:
Passeriformes
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Family: Alaudidae |
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BTO Codes:
S., SKYLA
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EURING No: 9760 | |
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Number in Britain:
1.7 million territories (Summer)
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Conservation Status:
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| Links to: Images Videos Sound | ||
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Status in UK:
(A) Resident Breeder, Passage/Winter Visitor
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Subspecies:
arvensis recorded in Britain (of 11 subsp. in the world)
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Length:
18 cm
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Wingspan: 33 cm |
Weight:
M: 42 g F: 35 g
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Scientific name from:
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L.: Alauda=lark (orig. Gaulish?) and L.: arvensis=of a field (from arvum=a field) |
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World Distribution:
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Europe, North Africa, n&c Asia, INTRODUCED: Canada, Australia, New Zealand |
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Habitat:
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Grassland, fields, tundra, sand dunes |
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Diet:
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Summer, mostly insects, otherwise cereal grain and weed seeds, also shoots |
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TitBit:
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An integral part of the British landscape, its song has inspired poets ranging from Chaucer to Blake, however, before the widespread introduction of farming it was probably quite scarce and its fortunes since have followed farming practices |
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| Population and Distribution | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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British Population Size:
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Summer:
1.7 million territories
in 2000
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First Record:
8th Century
[Fossil evidence from
Ipswichian (last) interglacial, c. 125,000 yr ago]
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Latest Survey:
Browne, S. et al. (2000) Bird Study 47:52-65
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Conservation Status:
RED
because
Recent Breeding Population Decline (1969-2007),
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Previous Assessments:
2002-2007
RED
1996-2001
RED
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| Races of Concern: arvensis RED (Recent Decline) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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UK Biodiversity Action Plan
(Lead Partner: RSPB)
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Habitat Occupancy (in the Breeding Season):
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| Most frequent in: Moorland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Also common in: Arable Farmland, Bog | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| And found in: Grass/Heath, Marsh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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European Population Size:
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Summer:
25 to 45 million pairs
(Trend in Numbers)
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Population Assesment from Birds in Europe
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Distribution in Europe
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Listed on the Appendices/Schedules of:
WBD(II*), Bern(III)
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| Breeding and Survival | ||||||||||
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Egg Size:
23 x 17 mm
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Egg Weight: 3.3 g (of which 6 % is shell) | |||||||||
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Number of Nest Records:
180
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Clutch Size:
3 - 4 eggs
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3.49 ± 0.67 (1 - 6) N = 1448
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Incubation:
13- 14 days
13.30 ± 1.82 (10.5 - 16.5) N = 1448
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by the:
Female
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Fledging:
11 - 16days
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13.48 ± 2.65 (9 - 17) N = 2077 |
as:
Altricial, downy
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First Clutches Laid:
19 May (20 Apr - 6 Jul)
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Number of Broods:
1-4
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Trends in Breeding Productivity
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Number Ringed:
829
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Adult Survival:
0.513
± 0.024
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Juvenile Survival:
No data
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Age at First Breeding:
1
year
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Typical Lifespan:
2
years
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Maximum Recorded Age:
9yr 0m
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| Biometrics | |||||||
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Ring Size:
B
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Wing Length
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Adult: | 110.8 ± 4.7 | Range | 102 - 117 mm, N =844 | |||
| Juvenile: | Insufficient Data. | ||||||
| Male: | 114.2 ± 3.1 | 109 - 119 mm, N =179 | |||||
| Female: | 104.0 ± 3.1 | 100 - 110 mm, N =89 | |||||
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Weight
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Adult: | 38.56 ± 3.70 | Range | 32.60 - 44.80 g , N =818 | |||
| Juvenile: | Insufficient Data. | ||||||
| Male: | 39.74 ± 3.63 | 34.40 - 46.10 g , N =163 | |||||
| Female: | 35.49 ± 2.86 . | 30.60 - 39.90 g , N =84 | |||||
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| Other Names | |
| Sky Lark | |
| Gaelic: Uiseag | Welsh: Ehedydd |
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Danish:
Sanglærke
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Dutch: Veldleeuwerik |
| Finnish: Kiuru (Leivonen) | French: Alouette des champs |
| German: Feldlerche | Hungarian: Mezei pacsirta |
| Icelandic: Sönglævirki | Irish: Fuiseog |
| Italian: Allodola | Norwegian: Sanglerke |
| Polish: Skowronek zwyczajny | Portuguese: Laverca |
| Spanish: Alondra común | Swedish: Sånglärka |
| Local Names: Laverock | |
| Collective Noun: Exaltation | |
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| For More Information... |
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Books and Monographs:
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| Donald, P. & Vickery J. (eds) 2001 The ecology and conservation of skylarks RSPB, Sandy [598.851 DON] |
| Donald, P. 2004 The Skylark Poyser, London [598.851 DON] |
| See Also: |
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Gough, G.A. et al. (1998) Patuxent Bird Identification Infocenter
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Wikipedia entry
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State of the Nations Birds by Chris Mead
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BOU Register of Avian Theses entry
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Recent sightings and information from BirdGuides.com
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Selected scientific papers published 1980-2005
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Find more papers on Google Scholar
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Find more papers on Scirus
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| These data should be cited as: | © British Trust for Ornithology, |
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