Karoo Lark

SCI Name:  Calendulauda albescens
Protonym:  Alauda albescens Rev.Zool. 2 p.259
Taxonomy:  Passeriformes / Alaudidae / Calendulauda
Taxonomy Code:  karlar2
Type Locality:  Blauw Berg, South Africa. [Gray phase].
Author:  Lafresnaye
Publish Year:  1839
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

CALENDULAUDA
(Alaudidae; † Karoo Lark C. albescens) Portmanteau of genera Calendula Swainson, 1837, lark, and Alauda, Linnaeus, 1758, lark; "Mr. G. R. Gray assigns to MEGALOPHONUS certain true Larks (possessing the nareal tuft) of S. Africa, which Dr. A. Smith classed as ALAUDÆ; but these constitute a peculiar form, CALENDULAUDA, nobis; ex. ALAUDA ALBESCENS, Lafr. (v. A. codea, A. Smith),— A. LAGEPA, A. Smith, &c." (Blyth 1855); "Calendulauda Blyth, Journ. As. Soc. Bengal, xxiv, p. 258, 1855.  Type by original designation, Alauda albescens Lafr. = Certhilauda nivosa Swains." (W. Sclater, 1930, Syst. Av. Aethiop., II, p. 316); "CALENDULAUDA Blyth, 1855  F — Alauda albescens Lafresnaye, 1839; type by monotypy." (Dickinson & Christidis (eds.), H. & M. Complete Checklist, 4th ed., 2014, 2 (Passerines), p. 437). The Karoo Lark and its allies are a challenging group that have been linked to various other taxa in the past.
Synon. Pseudammomanes, Sabota.

albescens
L. albescens, albescentis  whitish  < albescere  to become white  < albere  to be white  < albus  white.
● ex “Busard” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 423 (= ?♀) (?syn. Accipiter gentilis).
● ex “Blanchard” of Levaillant 1796, pl. 3 (= ☼) (syn. Stephanoaetus coronatus).

SUBSPECIES

Karoo Lark (albescens)
SCI Name: Calendulauda albescens albescens
albescens
L. albescens, albescentis  whitish  < albescere  to become white  < albere  to be white  < albus  white.
● ex “Busard” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 423 (= ?♀) (?syn. Accipiter gentilis).
● ex “Blanchard” of Levaillant 1796, pl. 3 (= ☼) (syn. Stephanoaetus coronatus).

Karoo Lark (codea)
SCI Name: Calendulauda albescens codea
codea
Etymology undiscovered; perhaps a Tswana or Khoikhoi name, or from Gr. κωδεα kōdea  head; "The bill in adult specimens of this species has considerable similarity to that of the Certhilaudæ; and were the nostrils not covered with recumbent wiry bristles, it would be difficult to point out any very palpable character by which it could be distinguished from the bill of a species of that subdivision." (A. Smith 1843, Illustr. Zool. South Africa, Aves, pl. 87, fig. 1, and text) (subsp. Certhilauda albescens).

Karoo Lark (guttata)
SCI Name: Calendulauda albescens guttata
guttata
L. guttatus  spotted, speckled  < gutta  drop, spot.
● ex “Héoro-taire moucheté” of Audebert & Vieillot 1802 (unident., ?Zosteropidae, ?Meliphagidae).

Karoo Lark (karruensis)
SCI Name: Calendulauda albescens karruensis
karruensis
Karroo or Karoo, a semi-arid plateau region of southwestern South Africa.