Archer's Lark

The Somali spur Lark ( Heteromirafra archeri ) is a rare, poorly understood lark, which is endemic in north -west Somalia. Named after Sir Geoffrey is the kind Francis Archer, the Governor of British Somaliland land from 1914 to 1922.

Description

The Somali lark spur reaches a length of 14 centimeters. It has a small, plump body, a large head, an upright hood and a short, thin tail. The top shows a distinctive scale pattern. The underside is buff washed with strong stripes on the chest. The outer tail feathers are white. As with all the hook-shaped spur larks rear claw is extended to a spur.

Dissemination

The habitat of the Somali Lark Spur is according to present knowledge between Hargeysa and Boorama in northwestern Somalia, along the border with Ethiopia. The region has an annual rainfall of 300 to 400 mm. It is located at an altitude up to 1500m, is rocky and was originally coined by open scrubland.

Status

The last documented sighting of the Somali spur lark is from the year 1955. Expeditions to the rediscovery of the species in the terra typica during the 1970s suggested will fail, as the last search actions between 1996 and 2006. Former habitat of the Somali spur lark is by changing the bush country and the settlement was destroyed by civil war refugees.

The secret life of the Somali lark spur, however, makes it very difficult to track them down. They probably could, therefore, still exist in other places of Somalia, where still intact bushland exists and it has been overlooked. From the IUCN is " threatened with extinction " classified in the category.