Red-capped Lark ( Calandrella cinerea, family: Alaudidae)

red capped lark Kruger National Park birds The Red-capped Lark (Latin name Calandrella cinerea) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 507 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 889 also a picture of the Red-capped Lark on page 913. The Red-capped Lark belongs to the family of birds classified as Alaudidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Red-capped Lark is also known by these other names: Short-toed Lark.

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The Red-capped Lark is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park.

In terms of distribution of the Red-capped Lark in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Red-capped Lark : see above distribution map.

Identification assistance for this avian species ...

One of the first indicators to take note of when trying to identify a bird is it relative size. For example how big is the bird compared to a well known familiar bird. The Red-capped Lark is a small bird about the size of a house sparrow. Do not take this relative indicator as anything other than a rough easy to remember indicator. It is not a accurate visualization. The height of the Red-capped Lark is about 16 cms and its weight is about 24 gms

The male and female Red-capped Lark have the same plumage and colours

  • Head is white, brown.
  • Eye is brown.
  • Bill is black.
  • Throat is white.
  • Back is brown.
  • Legs are brown.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Red-capped Lark feeds on the ground mainly

Invertebrates

Seeds

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Red-capped Lark is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Calandrella cinerea will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Red-capped Lark is to create the nest on the ground. The bird lays eggs which are white in colour and number between 2 to 3

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Red-capped Lark are: grasslands . The Red-capped Lark is also at home in wetland and bushveld areas.

You will normally see the Red-capped Lark in flocks.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Intibane/Intutyane

Zulu ... umNtoli

Afrikaans ...Rooikoplewerik

German ... Rotscheitellerche

Portuguese ... Cotovia-de-barrete-vermelho

French ... Alouette cendrille

Dutch ... Roodkapleeuwerik

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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 507

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za