Desert Lark (Ammomanes deserti) [XC460269]
by Lukas Thiess from south of Amerzgane, Province de Ouarzazate, Morocco (call)
Desert Lark (Ammomanes deserti) [XC892434]
by Sven Normant from Imiter, Ouarzazate Province, Dr\u00e2a-Tafilalet, Morocco (call)
Subspecies
Was in the past thought to form a superspecies with Gray's Lark (Ammomanopsis grayi), but apparent similarities now attributed to convergence. Similar morphologically, vocally and in habitat choice to Rufous-tailed Lark (Ammomanes phoenicura), and likely to be more closely related to that species. Geographical variation complex, and numerous subspecies named mainly on basis of plumage coloration, which in turn seems strongly related to predominant soil colours; pale and dark birds live side by side in some areas, e.g. Algeria (Hoggar Mts), Nile Valley and Jordan. Although over 30 subspecies have been described, many now usually merged with others, often in rather arbitrary way, for example: bensoni (grey-coloured) and janeti (brown) from Hoggar Mts have been included variously in geyri or whitakeri; intermedia (from El Golea area of Algeria) in mya or algeriensis; mirei (from Tibesti Mts, in Chad) in nominate subspecies, whitakeri or algeriensis; monodi (from the Iriji, in Mauritania) in payni or geyri; katharinae (from Sinai Peninsula) in nominate or isabellina; hijazensis (from Arabian western coast) in samharensis or isabellina. In addition, fratercula (described from Dead Sea region) and borosi (from lower Nile Valley in east-central Egypt) considered inseparable from isabellina. Subspecies iranica and phoenicuroides said to intergrade widely in Afghanistan and Pakistan (in region from Kandahar east to Quetta). A thorough review of taxonomy is required.
The following 24 subspecies are recognised:
payni Hartert, 1924 - Morocco (south of High Atlas Mts) and nearby south-western Algeria.
algeriensis Sharpe, 1890 - Northern Algeria (north of 31º north), Tunisia and north-western Libya (western Tripolitania).
mya Hartert, 1912 - Central Algeria (Sahara between 30º northern and 27º north).
geyri Hartert, 1924 - Mauritania east to southern Algeria and north-western Niger (Aí¯r Massif).
whitakeri Hartert, 1911 - South-eastern Algeria (including Hoggar Mts) and south-western Libya, perhaps also north-western Chad (Tibesti Mts).
kollmanspergeri Niethammer, 1955 - North-eastern Chad (Ennedi Mts) and western Sudan (Darfur).
isabellina (Temminck, 1823) - Northern Egypt (from west of Nile Valley and Dakhla Oasis) east to southern and eastern Israel, southern Jordan, north-western Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq (east to R Tigris).
deserti (Lichtenstein, 1823) - Eastern Egypt (east of R Nile to Red Sea) south to Sudan.
erythrochroa Reichenow, 1904 - Western Chad (Ndjamena) east to northern Sudan (Dongola south to Kordofan).
samharensis Shelley, 1902 - Red Sea coasts of Sudan, Eritrea (south to Mits'iwa) and Arabian Peninsula (south to Yemen border).
assabensis Salvadori, 1902 - Ethiopia and north-western Somalia.
akeleyi Elliot, DG, 1897 - Highlands of northern Somalia.
coxi Meinertzhagen, 1923 - Southern Turkey (Birecik), Syria and northern Iraq (east to Samarra and Al Fallujah).
annae Meinertzhagen, R, 1923 - Black lava deserts of Jordan (Azraq area), probably also extreme southern Syria.
saturata Ogilvie-Grant, 1900 - Black lava deserts of southern Arabia (northern Hijaz south to Aden).
insularis Ripley, 1951 - Bahrain, in Persian Gulf.
taimuri Meyer de Schauensee & Ripley, 1953 - Oman (Muscat area).
cheesmani Meinertzhagen, R, 1923 - Eastern Iraq (east of R Tigres) to western Iran (S, west of Zagros Mts, to Persian Gulf near Bandar eastern Bushehr).
BirdLife International Species Factsheet