Sabota Lark ( Calendulauda sabota, family: Alaudidae)

sabota lark kruger national park.gif The Sabota Lark (Latin name Calendulauda sabota) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 498 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 868 also a picture of the Sabota Lark on page 913. The Sabota Lark belongs to the family of birds classified as Alaudidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Sabota Lark is also known by these other names: Small-billed Sabota Lark, Large-billed Sabota Lark, Bradfield's Lark.

The Robert's 7 Latin name for Sabota Lark has changed from Mirafra sabota in Robert's 6 to Calendulauda sabota

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

Near endemic species is one that is confined to a specific geographical region rather than a single country for example. Certain birds in The Kruger National Park are near endemic to Mozambique, and Zimbabwe for example. One such example is the Sabota Lark and this species depends upon a certain type of habitat for survival. Destroy that habitat and the bird becomes endangered.

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

The Sabota Lark.

Kruger Park Sabota LarkIdentification 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 Sabota 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 Sabota Lark is about 15 cms and its weight is about 25 gms

You will find that the male Sabota Lark plumage and colours are different to that of the female Sabota Lark

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

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Sabota Lark feeds on the ground and in foliage mainly

Invertebrates

Fruits

Seeds

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Sabota Lark is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Calendulauda sabota will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Sabota Lark is to create the nest on the ground. The bird lays eggs which are yellow in colour and number between 2 to 4

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Sabota Lark are: woodlands . The Sabota Lark is also at home in wetland and bushveld areas.

You will not see Sabota Lark in flocks. The bird prefers to act singly or in pairs.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Unknown

Zulu ... Unknown

Afrikaans ...Sabotalewerik

German ... Sabotalerche

Portuguese ... Cotovia-sabota

French ... Alouette sabota

Dutch ... Sabota-Leeuwerik

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

Robert's 7th edition number ... 498

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