Habitat
Well-grazed upland grasslands, mostly coincident with black clay soils. During breeding, it prefers short, dense, severely grazed natural grassland on plateaux and upper hill slopes, avoiding rocky areas, taller grass in bottomlands, vleis, croplands and planted pastures, and outside the breeding season, favours fallow land and severely grazed, seasonally burnt and trampled patches.
Eastern Free State and Mpumulanga, in north-eastern South Africa.
Population
Estimated population is 1,500 - 5,000 (2010) and decreasing.
Status EN
Habitat destruction and degradation through conversion to agriculture, mining, intensive grazing, burning regimes, nest predation by mongooses, rodents and snakes, are the main threats.
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.
Voice
A repeated 'chiree', and a 'chuk' flight call during breeding and when with recently fledged young.
Botha's Lark (Spizocorys fringillaris) [XC280685]
by Nature sounds by Simply Birding from Memel area, Free State, South Africa (flight call)
Botha's Lark (Spizocorys) [XC646250]
by id from Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality (near Wakkerstroom), Eastvaal District Council, Mpumalanga, South Africa (song)
Subspecies
No subspecies.
Sometimes placed in a monotypic genus Botha, but such treatment unwarranted. Usually considered closely related to Pink-billed Lark (Spizocorys conirostris).
Similar Species
Differs from Pink-billed Lark (Spizocorys conirostris) in less conical pink bill, paler underparts and white outer tail feathers.
References
See References.
BirdLife International Species Factsheet