Spike-heeled Lark (Chersomanes albofasciata) [XC392380]
by Tony Archer from Brandvlei area, Northern Cape, South Africa (call)
Spike-heeled Lark (Chersomanes albofasciata) [XC601219]
by Keith Blomerley from City of Matlosana, Southern DC, North West, South Africa (?)
Subspecies
Forms a superspecies with Beesley's Lark (Chersomanes beesleyi) and usually considered conspecific, but genetically distinct, widely separated geographically, and lacks sexual plumage dimorphism. Genetic data indicate that northern populations are basal, and that, within South Africa, western (coastal) and eastern (grassland) populations are more closely related to each other than to Karoo populations. Geographical variation mostly in plumage coloration, with fine-scale differences linked to changes in soil colour, resulting in numerous subspecies having been described. Differences among many contiguous forms broadly clinal, and further study may demonstrate that several of listed subspecies are unsustainable.
Other named subspecies include longispina from Angola (western Huíla), synonymized with obscurata; bathoeni from south-eastern Botswana, merged with kalahariae; bradfieldi from Great Namaqualand (Langklip), merged with arenaria; from west to eastern in South Africa, bushmanensis and meinertzhageni are considered synonymous with garrula, baddeleyi with nominate, robertsi and subpallida with alticola, and latimerae with macdonaldi. Isolated population in south-eastern DRCongo not yet ascribed to any named subspecies.
The following 10 subspecies are recognised:
obscurata (Hartert, 1907) - South-western, central and north-eastern Angola (central plateau, and southern Bengula south to Namibe).
boweni (Meyer de Schauensee, 1931) - North-western Namibia.
BirdLife International Species Factsheet