The Degodi Lark is a species of lark

Lark

Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. All species occur in the Old World, and in northern and eastern Australia; only one, the Shore Lark, has spread to North America, where it is called the Horned Lark...

 in the Alaudidae family endemic to Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

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Identification

A small (14 cm long), slender lark, with abundant streaking, very similar to a pipit

Pipit

The pipits are a cosmopolitan genus, Anthus, of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. Along with the wagtails and longclaws, the pipits make up the family Motacillidae...

, Anthus. Markings on breast faint on light, buff underbelly. Voice is a 4-6-note trill; twill-ill-ill-ill-ill, and shorter tsee-tsee.

Habitat and diet

Its natural habitat

Habitat

* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...

 is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland

Shrubland

Shrubland, scrubland, scrub or brush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity...

. It eats caterpillar

Caterpillar

Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...

s and small orthopterans and is found among low Acacia

Acacia

Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...

 bushes on bare soil, with scattered Commiphora

Commiphora

Commiphora is a genus of flowering plants in the family Burseraceae. It includes about 185 species of trees and shrubs, often armed or thorny, native to Africa, Arabia, and the Indian subcontinent.-Uses:...

 bushes and other species. Often seen using bushes for perches. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Range & population

We have, at present no more than a rough sketch of Mirafra degodiensis, gleened from infrequently gathered facts. This, as well, goes for its population and range, but it is believed to have a very small population. Its known range covers about 400 square km, possibly up to 2,000 square km. Seen most reliably east of Bogol Manya, Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

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Taxonomy

In 2009 the IUCN treated Mirafra degodiensis as a synonym of Mirafra gilletti (Gillett's Lark

Gillett's Lark

The Gillett's Lark is a species of lark in the Alaudidae family.- Range :Mirafra gilletti has a somewhat wide range, with an estimated global Extent of Occurrence of 690,000 square km. over Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia....

), which it assessed as Least Concern

Least Concern

Least Concern is an IUCN category assigned to extant taxon or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, Near Threatened, or Conservation Dependent...

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