The Madagascar lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae endemic to Madagascar.
Region
Madagascar
Typical Environment
Occurs widely in open country including dry grasslands, scrubby savannas, spiny thickets, and degraded farmland edges. It favors sandy or stony substrates with scattered bushes that provide song perches and cover. The species also uses roadside verges, fallow fields, and open clearings. It avoids dense forest and very wet habitats.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1600 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The Madagascar lark is a ground-dwelling lark that thrives in open, dry habitats and is known for its agile running and short, fluttering display flights. It often sings from low shrubs or during brief aerial displays, especially at dawn. Nests are simple ground cups, making the species vulnerable to trampling and predation. It is a year-round resident across suitable habitats in Madagascar.
Near Morondava, Madagascar
Temperament
wary and terrestrial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with brief undulating display flights
Social Behavior
Typically solitary or in pairs, forming small loose groups outside the breeding season. Nests are shallow ground cups hidden at the base of grasses or small shrubs. Breeding is timed to the rainy season when insects are most abundant.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
The song is a varied series of clear whistles, trills, and short phrases delivered from a low perch or during brief fluttering song flights. Calls include dry chacks and soft tseeps used during foraging and alarm.
Plumage
Heavily streaked brown upperparts with a slightly mottled mantle and pale, streaked breast grading to buff underparts. Feathers appear sandy-brown with darker shaft streaks, giving a cryptic, ground-matching look.
Diet
Feeds on a mix of insects (beetles, ants, grasshoppers, and larvae) and seeds from grasses and forbs. Insects dominate during the breeding season to meet protein demands. It pecks and probes on the ground, often turning leaf litter and gleaning from low vegetation.
Preferred Environment
Forages in open, sparsely vegetated ground, paths, field edges, and scrubby clearings. Uses low bushes for lookout perches while feeding on adjacent bare patches.
