Botha's lark

Small, compact lark, exhibiting a boldly marked face with a pinkish, conical bill. Grey-brown upperparts, contrasting with pale underparts and a streaked, buffy chest. This lark also exhibits spread out streaking on its flanks, which helps differentiate it from the similar Pink-billed Lark (Spizocorys conirostris) which has plain, white flanks. Its call is short and simple and can be given in flight or whilst on the ground. {{Cite web |title=Botha's Lark - eBird |url=https://ebird.org/ebird/species/botlar1?siteLanguage=en_ZA |access-date=2025-04-24 |website=ebird.org |language=en}}

Botha's lark was originally placed in the genus Alauda. Formerly, some authorities have classified it within either the genus Calandrella or the monotypic genus Botha. An alternate species name of difficilis has also been used to describe Botha's lark.{{Cite web|url=http://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/species.jsp?avibaseid=53C0293AE6A9B14F|title=Spizocorys fringillaris - Avibase|website=avibase.bsc-eoc.org|access-date=2016-12-04}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=En4wBAAAQBAJ&dq=genus+Botha&pg=PT179|title=The Eponym Dictionary of Birds|last1=Beolens|first1=Bo|last2=Watkins|first2=Michael|last3=Grayson|first3=Michael|date=2014-08-28|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=9781472905741|language=en}}

The Botha's lark is entirely confined to a small portion of central-eastern South Africa, mainly the provinces of Mpumalanga and the Free State. It was most easily seen around the town of Wakkerstroom (an area known for its diversity of endangered, endemic birds) and surrounding towns,de Bruin, M., Little, I. and Hughes, C. (2017), Conserving the Endangered Botha’s Lark (Spizocorys fringillaris) and its threatened grassland habitat. African Bird Club Research Fund for Endangered Birds. however the current strongholds of this species are being kept a secret in the hopes of preserving their population.

The Botha's Lark occurs on high-altitude grasslands in central-eastern South Africa. Over 80% of its range's habitat has been lost due to habitat destruction from various factors, such as agriculture.{{Cite web |date=2012-12-18 |title=Africa’s endangered species |url=https://www.rockjumperbirding.com/africas-endangered-species-by-adam-riley/ |access-date=2025-04-24 |website=Rockjumper Birding Tours}}

The diet of Botha's lark includes seeds and insects, including beetles and moths.{{Cite journal|url=http://www.hbw.com/species/bothas-lark-spizocorys-fringillaris|title=Botha's Lark (Spizocorys fringillaris)|website=www.hbw.com|year=2020 |doi=10.2173/bow.botlar1.01 |access-date=2016-12-04|last1=Ryan |first1=Peter |s2cid=216175038 |editor-first1=Josep |editor-first2=Andrew |editor-first3=Jordi |editor-first4=David |editor-first5=Eduardo |editor-last1=Del Hoyo |editor-last2=Elliott |editor-last3=Sargatal |editor-last4=Christie |editor-last5=De Juana }} Diets of the chicks were found to be exclusively insect-based. Grasshoppers comprised the majority of the food brought back to the nest.{{Cite journal |last=Maphisa |first=David H |last2=Donald |first2=Paul F |last3=Buchanan |first3=Graeme M |last4=Ryan |first4=Peter G |date=April 2009 |title=Habitat use, distribution and breeding ecology of the globally threatened Rudd's Lark and Botha's Lark in eastern South Africa |url=https://doi.org/10.2989/ostrich.2009.80.1.3.761 |journal=Ostrich |volume=80 |issue=1 |pages=19–28 |doi=10.2989/ostrich.2009.80.1.3.761 |issn=0030-6525}}

The average clutch size of Botha's lark is around two eggs. Egg dimensions ar 17.2-19.6 mm × 13.5-14.2 mm. Egg laying starts by middle to late November. Post-breeding flocks were formed by mid-December.

Botha's lark nests are often constructed in high densities, sometimes just 3 m apart, and breeding occurs in synchrony in these areas. Nests are constructed and dried cow or sheep dung are placed around the nest after completion. Botha's lark seem to favor recently burnt areas to construct their nests.thumb

Botha's lark is assessed as Endangered according to the South American National Biodiversity Institute and the International Union for Conservation of Nature due to the decline of less than 2500 mature individuals in less than 20 locations, its localized geographic range, and loss of habitat due to farming.{{Cite web |title=Red List of South African Species - Spizocorys fringillaris |url=http://speciesstatus.sanbi.org/assessment/last-assessment/03170/ |access-date=2023-07-13 |website=speciesstatus.sanbi.org}} As of 2017, less than 1% of the population of Botha's Lark were in protected areas.

The implementation of protected areas in the habitats of these birds would not only preserve the endangered highland grasslands of South Africa, but also overlap with the distributions of numerous other threatened species, including Grey-crowned Crane (Balearica regulorum), Blue Crane (Anthropoides paradiseus), Cape Vulture (Gyps coprotheres), Southern Bald Ibis (Geronticus calvus), Rudd's Lark (Heteromirafra ruddi), Yellow-breasted Pipit (Hemimacronyx chloris) and Sungazers (Smaug giganteus).

There is considerable habitat fragmentation within the distribution of the Botha's lark, which is coupled with its already patchy occurrence. Sub-populations often have minimal contact, which reduces gene flow and diversity within the species. Primary threats driving habitat destruction include agriculture, mining and urban expansion.

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{{Commonscat|Spizocorys fringillaris}}

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• [http://sabap2.adu.org.za/docs/sabap1/509.pdf Species text] - The Atlas of Southern African Birds

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Category:Spizocorys

Category:Endemic birds of South Africa

Botha's lark

Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot

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