Lesser Short-toed Lark

SCI Name:  Alaudala rufescens
Protonym:  A[lauda] rufescens Tabl.Encyc.Meth.Orn. 1 p.322
Taxonomy:  Passeriformes / Alaudidae / Alaudala
Taxonomy Code:  lstlar3
Type Locality:  Tenerife, Canary Islands.
Author:  Vieillot
Publish Year:  1819
IUCN Status:  

DEFINITIONS

ALAUDALA
(Alaudidae; Ϯ Sand Lark A. raytal) Dim. < genus Alauda Linnaeus, 1758, Skylark; "Genus ALAUDALA, Blyth, MS. Indian Ornith. p. (1855).  713. ALAUDALA RAYTAL, F. (Buch.) Hamilton Sp.   ...   Aggia Lark, var. A., Lath., Hist. of Birds, VI, p. 308.  The Sand Lark, Blyth.  RAYTUL, Hind.  ... This bird abounds on the white sand-dunes of the Hooghly, where the stream, unchecked by the tide, deposits only fine sand, and the alluvial country round (from this cause) is everywhere light and arenaceous; this Sand Lark being scarcely ever seen except on the flat deposits of the white sand within each bend of the stream; but there they are very numerous, and (as usual) their colour approximates that of the surface.  It is not much of a musician; but often ventures on short snatches of song, frequently without rising from the ground; and I never saw it mount high like its musical neighbour the A. malabarica, whose habits and song closely resemble those of A. arvensis. The haunts of these two species border, and they may commonly be seen and heard at the same time; but this will be on the confines of each other's territory." (Horsfield & Moore 1858); "Alaudala Horsfield and Moore, 1858, Cat. Birds Mus. East-India Co., 2, p. 471. Type, by monotypy, Alauda raytal Blyth." (Peters 1960, IX, p. 44).
Var. Alaudula.

rufescens
L. rufescens, rufescentis  reddish  < rufescere  to become reddish  < rufus  red.
● ex “Aigrette rousse de la Louisiane” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 902, “Aigrette rousse” of de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Reddish Egret” of Pennant 1785, and Latham 1785 (Egretta).
● ex “Gobe-mouche roux de Cayenne” (= ♀) of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 453, fig. 1, and de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Rufous Fly-catcher” of Latham 1783 (syn. Pachyramphus rufus).
● ex “Red-backed Pelican” of Latham 1785 (Pelecanus).
● ex Tringa fulicaria Linnaeus, 1758, and “Phalarope roussâtre” of Brisson 1760 (syn. Phalaropus fulicarius).
● ex “Ynambú guazú” of de Azara 1802-1805, no. 326 (Rhynchotus).
● ex “Crombec” or “Figuier à Bec Courbi” of Levaillant 1803, pl. 135 (Sylvietta).

SUBSPECIES

Lesser Short-toed Lark (rufescens)
SCI Name: Alaudala rufescens rufescens
rufescens
L. rufescens, rufescentis  reddish  < rufescere  to become reddish  < rufus  red.
● ex “Aigrette rousse de la Louisiane” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 902, “Aigrette rousse” of de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Reddish Egret” of Pennant 1785, and Latham 1785 (Egretta).
● ex “Gobe-mouche roux de Cayenne” (= ♀) of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 453, fig. 1, and de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Rufous Fly-catcher” of Latham 1783 (syn. Pachyramphus rufus).
● ex “Red-backed Pelican” of Latham 1785 (Pelecanus).
● ex Tringa fulicaria Linnaeus, 1758, and “Phalarope roussâtre” of Brisson 1760 (syn. Phalaropus fulicarius).
● ex “Ynambú guazú” of de Azara 1802-1805, no. 326 (Rhynchotus).
● ex “Crombec” or “Figuier à Bec Courbi” of Levaillant 1803, pl. 135 (Sylvietta).

Lesser Short-toed Lark (polatzeki)
SCI Name: Alaudala rufescens polatzeki
polatzeki
Capt. Johann Polatzek (1839-1927) Austrian ornithologist, collector in the Canary Is. 1902-1905, and Balearic Is. 1910 (subsp. Alaudala rufescens, Fringilla, syn. Galerida theklae).

Lesser Short-toed Lark (apetzii)
SCI Name: Alaudala rufescens apetzii
apetzii
Prof. Johan Heinrich Apetz (1794-1857) German entomologist (subsp. Alaudala rufescens).

Lesser Short-toed Lark (minor)
SCI Name: Alaudala rufescens minor
minor
L. minor  smaller  < comp. parvus  small. “Comparative names ... Specific names expressive of comparative size are also to be avoided, as they may be rendered inaccurate by the after-discovery of additional species. The names ... maximus, minor, minimus, etc. are examples of this objectionable practice” (Strickland Code 1842).
● ex “Short-eared Owl” of Pennant 1761 (syn. Asio flammeus).
● ex “Little Thrush” of Catesby 1731-1743, Edwards 1758-1764, Latham 1783, and Pennant 1785, “Turdus iliacus carolinensis” of Brisson 1760, and “Grivette de l’Amérique” of de Buffon 1770-1783 (syn. Catharus fuscescens).
● ex “Whip-poor-will” of Catesby 1731 (Chordeiles).
● ex “Coucou des palétuviers de Cayenne” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 813, “Petit Vieillard” of de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Mangrove Cuckow” of Latham 1782 (Coccyzus).
● "54. PICUS.  ...  minor.  12. P. albo nigroque varius vertice rubro, ano albido.  Picus albo nigroque varius, rectricibus tribus lateralibus seminigris. Fn. svec. 83. Hasselqv. iter. 242.  Picus varius tertius. Raj. av. 43.  Picus varius minor. Alb. av. I. p. 20. t. 20.  Habitat in Europa.” (Linnaeus 1758) (Dryobates).
● ex “Fregata minor” of Brisson 1760, “Petite Frégate” of de Buffon 1770-1783, “Man of War Bird” of Edwards 1760, and “Lesser Frigate Pelican” of Latham 1785 (Fregata).
● ex “Petit Indicateur” of Levaillant 1807, pl. 242 (Indicator).
● ex “Pie-grièsche d’Italie” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 32, fig. 1 (Lanius).
● ex “Perruche à ailes noires” of de Buffon 1770-1783, “Petite perruche de l’isle de Luçon, 4ème ésp.” of Sonnerat 1776, and “Luzonian Parrakeet” of Latham 1781 (syn. Loriculus philippensis).
● ex “Apiaster Philippensis minor” of Brisson 1760 (syn. Merops viridis americanus).
● ex “Little Woodcock” of Pennant 1785, and Latham 1785 (Microptera).
● ex “Troupiale de la Caroline” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 606, fig. 1, “Petit Troupiale noir” of de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Lesser black Oriole” of Latham 1782 (syn. Molothrus ater).
● ex “Lesser Bird of Paradise” of Latham 1783 (Paradisaea).
● ex “Barbican à ventre rose” of Levaillant 1806 (Pogonornis).
● ex “Porphyrio minor” of Brisson 1760 (syn. Porphyrula martinica).
● ex “Colymbus fluviatilis” of Brisson 1760 (syn. Tachybaptus ruficollis).
● ex “Huppe d’Afrique” of Audebert & Vieillot 1800-1802 (syn. Upupa africana).
● ex “Ringvia” of Brünnich 1764, and “Lesser Guillemot” of Pennant 1785 (syn. Uria aalge).

Lesser Short-toed Lark (nicolli)
SCI Name: Alaudala rufescens nicolli
nicolli
Michael John Nicoll (1880-1925) English ornithologist, naturalist on yacht Valhalla on cruises around Africa 1902-1903, West Indies 1903-1904, and the world 1905-1906, Assistant Director Zoological Gardens, Giza 1906-1923 (subsp. Alaudala rufescens, subsp. Ammoperdix heyi, subsp. Fregata minor, Ploceus, syn. Sula sula rubripes).

Lesser Short-toed Lark (niethammeri)
SCI Name: Alaudala rufescens niethammeri
niethammeri
Prof. Dr Günther T. Niethammer (1908-1974) German ornithologist, mammalogist (subsp. Alaudala cheleensis, syn. Carpodacus rubicilla severtzovi, subsp. Nothoprocta pentlandii, subsp. Parus major, syn. Pogoniulus pusillus).

Lesser Short-toed Lark (pseudobaetica)
SCI Name: Alaudala rufescens pseudobaetica
pseudobaetica
Gr. ψευδος pseudos  false, another; Mod. L. baeticus  Spanish brown  < L. Baeticus, a province of Roman Spain, now Andalucia, famed for its wool (cf. specific name Calandrella baetica Dresser, 1873 (= syn. Alaudala rufescens apetzii)); "Calandrella minor pseudobaetica subsp. nov.  Sehr dunkel, dunkler als C. m. heinei, am meisten an die spanische Form erinnernd.  Die Oberseite ist graubraun, die dunkle Zeichnung auf Kopf und Rücken braunschwarz, sehr ausgedehnt und scharfmarkiert.  ...  Verbreitung. Hochland von Armenien (Urmia-See, Kurdistan, zwischen Urmia und Mossul) und Südostküste des Kaspi-Sees (Tschikischljar), vermutlich auch Nordpersien" (Stegmann 1932) (subsp. Alaudala rufescens).

Lesser Short-toed Lark (persica)
SCI Name: Alaudala rufescens persica
persica
L. Persicus  Persian  < Persia  Persia / Iran.

Lesser Short-toed Lark (heinei)
SCI Name: Alaudala rufescens heinei
heinei
Ferdinand Heine (1809-1894) German ornithologist, founder of Mus. Heineanum, Halberstadt (subsp. Alaudala rufescens, subsp. Clytorhynchus vitiensis, subsp. Larus canus, syn. Ognorhynchus icterotis, Tangara, Zoothera).