Mirafra


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 and systematics

The phylogeny of larks was reviewed by Alström et al. who found that the following species form a well supported monophyletic group, which is the sister lineage to Heteromirafra.

Extant species

The genus contains twenty-four species:
ImageScientific nameCommon NameDistribution
Mirafra fasciolataEastern clapper larksouthern Africa in Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and South Africa.
Mirafra apiataCape clapper larksouthern Africa
Mirafra hypermetraRed-winged larkEthiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda
Mirafra africanaRufous-naped larksub-Saharan Africa
Mirafra rufocinnamomeaFlappet larkCentral Africa
Mirafra angolensisAngolan larksouthern and central Africa
Mirafra williamsiWilliams's larknorthern Kenya
Mirafra passerinaMonotonous larksouthern Africa.
Mirafra chenianaMelodious larkSouth Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe
Mirafra javanicaHorsfield's bush larkAustralia and much of Southeast Asia.
Mirafra cantillansSinging bush larkAfrica, the Middle East, and South Asia
Mirafra micropteraBurmese bush larkcentral Myanmar
Mirafra assamicaBengal bush larkBangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar and Nepal
Mirafra erythrocephalaIndochinese bush larksoutheast Asia.
Mirafra erythropteraIndian bush larkPakistan and northwestern, central and south-central India.
Mirafra affinisJerdon's bush larksoutheast India and Sri Lanka
Mirafra gillettiGillett's larkEthiopia, Kenya, and Somalia
Mirafra rufaRusty bush larkSahel region of north-central Africa.
Mirafra collarisCollared larkeastern Ethiopia and Somalia to central Kenya
Mirafra ashiAsh's larkSomalia.
Mirafra somalicaSomali larkSomalia
Mirafra pulpaFriedmann's larkEast Africa.-
Mirafra cordofanicaKordofan larkMauritania and Senegal to Niger, eastern Chad, southern Sudan and northern South Sudan
Mirafra albicaudaWhite-tailed larkwestern 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: