Sidamo Lark

Its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland. It is threatened by habitat loss and unlike previously believed its population is rapidly declining. Listed as Vulnerable since 2000 on the IUCN Red List, it has been uplisted to Endangered in 2007,

The Sidamo Lark is classified as Critically Endangered (CR), facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

Sidamo Lark on the Way to Oblivion? = Posted in: Academics Thursday 16th, April 2009 Views(219) Comments(1) Print Forward mohan Alembathmohan Alembath Wildlifer The Ethiopiaian Sidamo Lark (Heteromirafra sidamoensis), one of the most ancient types of larks, is in parlous state. Unless efforts are made on a war footing to conserve the species it will have the dubious distinction of being the first recorded bird extinction on the continent. More

African Sidamo Lark could soon be extinct - The Sidamo lark inhabits a tiny area of grassland in southern Ethiopia The Sidamo lark inhabits a tiny area of grassland in southern Ethiopia The Sidamo lark could soon be the first bird on mainland Africa to die out since modern records began. A survey has found that just a few hundred of the larks survive in Ethiopia. Unless action is taken to save it, the bird will disappear. More

* Sidamo Lark, Heteromirafra sidamoensis * Rudd's Lark, Heteromirafra ruddi * Genus: Certhilauda * Cape Lark, Certhilauda curvirostris * Algulhas Long-billed Lark, Certhilauda brevirostris * Eastern Long-billed Lark, Certhilauda semitorquata * Karoo Long-billed Lark, Certhilauda subcoronata * Benguela Lark, More

* Sidamo Lark, Liben Plains near Negele, Ethiopia Sidamo Lark in need of a moult at the end of the dry season. Liben Plains, Ethiopia Christian Boix Hin... More

Sidamo Lark (Heteromirafra sidamoensis) 2009 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species status: Critically Endangered. More

Sidamo Lark Heteromirafra sidamoensis = Described by: Erard (1975) Alternate common name(s): Sidamo Bushlark, Sidamo Long-clawed Lark, Ethiopian Long-clawed Lark Old scientific name(s): Mirafra sidamoensis Photographs Ethiopia - Feb, 2008 More

Sidamo larkThe Sidamo lark inhabits a tiny area of grassland in southern Ethiopia The Sidamo lark could soon be the first bird on mainland Africa to die out since modern records began. A survey has found that just a few hundred of the larks survive in Ethiopia. Unless action is taken to save it, the bird will disappear. While it may be the first recorded bird extinction on the continent, it will not be the last, warn conservationists. More

Sidamo lark is facing the threat of extinction. A recent survey has found that just a few hundred of the African larks survive in Ethiopia, which indicates that the endangered bird might soon become extinct. "This imminent extinction reflects a wider social and political crisis that is repeated throughout Africa," said zoologist Claire Spottiswoode of the University of Cambridge, who led a survey of the bird's habitat and published her findings in the journal Animal Conservation. More

They found that the Sidamo lark lives within a single patch of grassland of just 35 square kilometres. That compares to a range of 760 square kilometres estimated by Birdlife International just last year, though that was a rough guess based on the best information available at the time. "The Liben Plain has recently much diminished in size owing to bush encroachment and crop planting. Much of the remaining grassland is too degraded for the species to exist in it," said Dr Spottiswoode. More

The Sidamo lark is known only from a small area of southern Ethiopia, situated south of the town of Negele in what was once known as the Sidamo Province (2) (4). It is thought to have a very small population; for many years, the species was known from just two individuals collected in 1968 and 1974, until it was found again in 1994. Only small numbers of the Sidamo lark have been sighted since (4). More

Greg Davies Sidamo Lark is adapted to Ethiopia's “rangeland” – the savanna of native grasses that traditionally covered large parts of east Africa, but is now rapidly disappearing. Zoom In The Red List 2009 is coming and Africa is in the spotlight. = 14-04-2009 On May 14 BirdLife International will release the 2009 Red List update for birds. More

Like the Sidamo lark, the bush-crow has been severely impacted by bush encroachment and a shift from pastoralism to crop-planting, and has recently been given "endangered" status by the IUCN. Article and photos at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8000199.stm Jan from 15.04. More

The Ethiopian Sidamo Lark could potentially become the first African bird to be declared extinct with the Savanna getting thronged with more bushes. Then there are the medium tree finch from Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands and the gorgeted puffleg from the Columbian Islands. All these birds have been categorized as critically endangered in the Red List formulated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. More

If the Sidamo Lark were to go to extinct, it would have the dubious honour of being the first known bird extinction for mainland Africa. The lark is adapted to Ethiopia's rangeland – the savanna of native grasses that traditionally covered large parts of East Africa but is now rapidly disappearing. In areas where the Liben plain has been overgrown by bush, converted into farmland or destroyed by overgrazing, the team rarely found Sidamo Larks. More

The Sidamo lark seems to be dependant on grassland 5 to 15 centimetres tall. Away from the Liben plain, there is no similar vegetation for over 200 km, meaning the lark has nowhere else to go. "It's effectively like living on an island, and that's where most extinctions happen," says Spottiswoode. Africa may have been spared bird extinctions so far because there are still relatively few such severely fragmented habitats. More

The Sidamo Lark is an extremely rare bird and is considered to be vulnerable. Its range is restricted to a very few square kilometres of open arid grassland and acacia scrub a few kilometres east of Negele Borena, an area known as the Liben Plains. It is reluctant to fly and will skulk down in the grass and bare earth relying on its plumage for concealment until eventually it will run rapidly away. More

The Sidamo lark ( Heteromirafra sidamoensis ) is an enigmatic species, and one of the most ancient types of lark known anywhere. Discovered by scientists in 1968, the bird was only seen once in the following 25 years. "If we lose this species then we lose an important ancestral link in the evolution of the entire radiation of lark species," said Dr Spottiswoode. More

The Sidamo Lark (Heteromirafra sidamoensis) is a species of lark in the Alaudidae family. It is endemic to Ethiopia. Its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland. It is threatened by habitat loss and unlike previously believed its population is declining. Thus, it is uplisted again to Endangered in the 2007 IUCN Red List from the Vulnerable status it held since 2000. More

Sidamo Lark, juvenile, Ethiopia, Negele Plain 01.16.2004 © Ecsedi Zoltan more pix. at: www.sakertour.hu Send this as a postcard Sidamo Lark, juvenile - Sidamo Lark, Ethiopia, Negelli 19970215 © Per Smitterberg Send this as a postcard Sidamo Lark - Sidamo Lark, Ethiopia, Liben plains, near Negele 27/12/08 © Aidan G. Kelly Still a few surviving on the plains.... More

Sidamo lark on the brink of extinction March 2009. The Sidamo lark, confined to the Liben Plain grassland in southern Ethiopia, is critically endangered by bush encroachment, permanent settlement and agricultural conversion. Its global range was previously estimated at 760 kms2, but in 2007-2008 available habitat covered just 35 kms2. Density estimates provided a global population estimate of 90-256 adults (possibly with a serious sex-ratio bias towards males). More