Rufous-naped Lark

Mirafra africana

Other Names

    Alouette à nuque rousse   Rotnackenlerche     Rödnackad lärka     Allodola nucarossiccia

World: An African species which is widely distributed S of 10°N. Not found in the dry SW of the continent and in the N it is mainly a bird of eastern regions.

Kenya: Generally found between 1200-3000m in the more humid areas of the country. Mostly absent from the northern and eastern regions.

A large, stocky lark which shows conspicuous rufous wings in flight. This is a distinctive bird with an upright stance which perches conspicuously giving voice to its repetitive song which consists of a single phrase. There are 3 races M. a. athi, found in the highlands, lacks a rufous nape. M. a. tropicalis (pictured above) is found in the west and has more rufous than the preceding race, the photograph was taken in January 2001 in the Maasai Mara. M. a. hartleri shows still more rufous than tropicalis and is the eastern race. The Rufous-naped Lark forms part of a superspecies with the larger Red-winged Lark.