Oriental Skylark (Alauda gulgula)

OTHER NAMES: Small Skylark
Latin Etymology: Alauda ("lark") gulgula (unclear etymology)

Adult Oriental Skylark (subspecies A. g. gulgula) at Florican Grasslands, Cambodia - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: Alauda gulgula gulgula
Weight: 15g  /  Length: 15-18cm  /  Wingspan: ?
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The Oriental Skylark is as the name suggests, the equivalent of the Eurasian Skylark of East Asia.  It appears cosmetically similar to them, but a little smaller and more slender.  They seemed to spend their time scurrying alonside the roads, looking for food, having slightly more pipit like behaviour than other larks I've seen.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Alaudidae
Genus: Alauda
SUBSPECIES: A. g. inconspicua, A. g. Ihamarum, A. g. weigoldi, A. g. inopinata, A. g. verynayi, A. g. gulgula, A. g. coelivox, A. g. wattersi

 - Sighting Locations -

CAMBODIA - Khmer name: ក្រូចអុិនកំប៉ោយ

A fairly common resident.

SINGAPORE / CAMBODIA 2019 TRIP - A some seen at Florican Grassland Reserve

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis)

OTHER NAMES: Skylark, Field Lark
Latin Etymology: Alauda ("lark") arvensis ("of the field")

Adult Eurasian Skylark (subspecies A. a. arvensis) at Trevose Head, Cornwall - June 2010

Featured Subspecies: Alauda arvensis arvensis
Weight: 17-55g  /  Length: 18-19cm  /  Wingspan: 30-36cm

UK RED LIST / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

Very often, the Skylark will be heard before it is seen - Skylarks are famous for their song, often from very high in the air beyond where they can easily be seen with the naked eye.  It's distinctive song is perhaps one of the most iconic sounds of the British countryside, and tends to turn up a lot in television whenever the idea of "pastoral" wants to be invoked. They are by far the most common and easy to see member of the Lark family in the UK, found on more widespread habitats such as Farmland etc. However, due to changes in farming practices, they have suffered significant declines in the UK.  For seeing them, a better bet is trying to spot them while they are still on the ground, and places without such intense framing practices tend to be best - Trevose Head in summer was practically full of them.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Alaudidae
Genus: Alauda
Subspecies: A. a. arvensis, A. a. scotica, A. a. guillelmi, A. a. sierrae, A. a. harterti, A. a. cantarella, A. a. armenica, A. a. dulcivox, A. a. kiborti, A. a. intermedia, A. a. pekinensis, A. a. lonnbergi, A. a. japonica

- Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - Locally fairly common breeding resident (1,500,000 territories)

 - Seen at sites including Trevose Head and Geddington.          

Further Information: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

.