Mirafra Explained
Mirafra is a genus of lark in the family Alaudidae. Some Mirafra species are called "larks", while others are called "bush larks". They are found from Africa through South Asia to Australia.
Taxonomy
The genus Mirafra was introduced in 1821 by the American naturalist Thomas Horsfield to accommodate a single species, Mirafra javanica the singing bush lark, which is therefore considered as the type species.[1] [2] The derivation of the genus name is unknown.[3]
The phylogeny of larks (Alaudidae) was reviewed by Alström et al. (2013) who found that the following species form a well supported monophyletic group, which is the sister lineage to Heteromirafra.[4]
Extant species
The genus contains twenty-four species:[5]
Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
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| Mirafra fasciolata | | southern Africa in Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and South Africa. |
| Mirafra apiata | | southern Africa |
| Mirafra hypermetra | | Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda |
| Mirafra africana | | sub-Saharan Africa |
| Mirafra sharpii | | northwestern Somalia |
| Mirafra rufocinnamomea | | Central Africa |
| Mirafra angolensis | | southern and central Africa |
| Mirafra williamsi | | northern Kenya |
| Mirafra passerina | | southern Africa. |
| Mirafra cheniana | | South Africa (Eastern Cape, the Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, and North West Province), Botswana and Zimbabwe |
| Mirafra javanica | | Australia and much of Southeast Asia. |
| Mirafra microptera | | central Myanmar |
| Mirafra assamica | | Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar and Nepal |
| Mirafra erythrocephala | | southeast Asia. |
| Mirafra erythroptera | | Pakistan and northwestern, central and south-central India. |
| Mirafra affinis | | southeast India and Sri Lanka |
| Mirafra gilletti | | Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia |
| Mirafra rufa | | Sahel region of north-central Africa. |
| Mirafra collaris | | eastern Ethiopia and Somalia to central Kenya |
| Mirafra ashi | | Somalia. |
| Mirafra somalica | | Somalia |
| Mirafra pulpa | | East Africa. |
| Mirafra cordofanica | | Mauritania and Senegal to Niger, eastern Chad, southern Sudan and northern South Sudan |
| Mirafra albicauda | | western Chad, eastern Sudan, northeastern South Sudan, south-central Ethiopia, and from Uganda and western Kenya to central Tanzania |
|
Former species
Some authorities, either presently or formerly, recognize several additional species as belonging to the genus Mirafra, including:
Notes and References
- Horsfield . Thomas . Thomas Horsfield . 1821 . Systematic arrangement and description of birds from the island of Java . Transactions of the Linnean Society . 13 . 1 . 133–200 [159] . 10.1111/j.1095-8339.1821.tb00061.x .
- Book: Mayr . Ernst . Ernst Mayr . Greenway . James C. Jr . 1960 . Check-List of Birds of the World . 9 . Museum of Comparative Zoology . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 3 .
- Book: Jobling, James A. . 2010. The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm . London . 978-1-4081-2501-4 . 256 .
- Alström. Per. Barnes. Keith N.. Olsson. Urban. Barker. F. Keith. Bloomer. Paulette. Khan. Aleem Ahmed. Qureshi. Masood Ahmed. Guillaumet. Alban. Crochet. Pierre-Andre. Ryan. Peter G.. Multilocus phylogeny of the avian family Alaudidae (larks) reveals complex morphological evolution, non-monophyletic genera and hidden species diversity. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 2013. 69. 3. 1043–1056. 10.1016/j.ympev.2013.06.005. 23792153. 2013MolPE..69.1043A .
- Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . 2018 . Nicators, reedling, larks . World Bird List Version 8.2 . International Ornithologists' Union . 15 July 2018 .
- Web site: Certhilauda chuana - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-11-11.
- Web site: Pinarocorys nigricans - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-11-11.
- Web site: Pinarocorys erythropygia - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-11-11.
- Web site: Ammomanes deserti phoenicuroides - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-12-16.
- Web site: Ammomanes phoenicura - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-12-17.
- Web site: Eremopterix hova - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-11-14.
- Web site: Calendulauda sabota - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-11-17.
- Web site: Calendulauda naevia - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-11-17.
- Web site: Calendulauda poecilosterna - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-11-17.
- Web site: Calendulauda alopex - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-11-17.
- Web site: Calendulauda intercedens - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-11-17.
- Web site: Calendulauda africanoides - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-11-17.
- Web site: Calendulauda albescens - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-11-18.
- Web site: Calendulauda burra - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-11-19.
- Web site: Calendulauda erythrochlamys - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-11-19.
- Web site: Calendulauda barlowi - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-11-19.
- Web site: Heteromirafra ruddi - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-11-21.
- Web site: Heteromirafra archeri - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-11-21.
- Web site: Heteromirafra sidamoensis - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-11-21.
- Web site: Galerida modesta struempelli - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-12-06.
- Web site: Galerida modesta bucolica - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-12-06.