Dunn's lark is a small passerine bird of the lark family. It is a desert bird which is found across parts of the Sahara from Mauritania to central Sudan.
Region
Sahara and Sahel
Typical Environment
Occurs patchily across the Sahara from Mauritania through Mali, Niger, and Chad to central Sudan, favoring very open, arid plains. It inhabits sandy and gravel deserts with sparse tussock grasses, dwarf shrubs, and scattered acacia. Birds often concentrate in ephemeral green patches after rainfall and may vacate areas that become overgrazed or too barren. Avoids rugged mountains and dense vegetation but uses wadis and low dune systems for nesting and foraging.
Altitude Range
0–1500 m
Climate Zone
Arid
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Dunn's lark is a small, sandy-colored lark adapted to life in hot deserts, often running across open ground before taking short, low flights. It can be hard to detect, relying on cryptic plumage and crouching behavior to avoid predators. Males perform brief display flights while delivering a soft, tinkling song. After rains it may move locally to exploit fresh seed and insect flushes.
Eremalauda dunni - MHNT
Temperament
solitary and secretive
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with low, undulating flights
Social Behavior
Typically seen singly or in pairs during the breeding season, nesting in a shallow scrape on the ground often sheltered by a tuft of grass or small shrub. Outside breeding, it may gather in small, loose groups where food is concentrated after rains. Territorial displays include brief song-flights over open ground.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A soft, tinkling series of trills and thin notes, delivered from a short display flight or a low perch. Calls are quiet and high-pitched, often easily missed against wind noise in open deserts.
Plumage
Fine, sandy-buff upperparts with subtle mottling and faint streaking on the breast; underparts pale and mostly unmarked. Short tail and relatively long wings for its size; plumage closely matches desert substrates.
Diet
Feeds on small seeds of desert grasses and forbs, supplemented by insects such as beetles, ants, and termites. During the breeding season, it increases insect intake to feed chicks protein-rich prey. Foraging is mostly by gleaning and pecking at the ground while running between sparse cover. It exploits post-rain growth and insect emergences opportunistically.
Preferred Environment
Open sandy or gravel plains with scattered low shrubs and tussock grasses, as well as the edges of wadis. Often forages in bare patches between vegetation, where seeds and small invertebrates concentrate.
