The rufous-rumped lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is found in western and central Africa from Mali, Guinea and Sierra Leone to eastern Sudan, South Sudan and north-western Uganda. Its natural habitat is dry savannah.
Region
West and Central Africa
Typical Environment
Occurs from the western Sahel (Mali, Guinea, Sierra Leone) east through the savannas of Burkina Faso, Niger, and Chad to eastern Sudan, South Sudan, and north-western Uganda. Prefers dry savanna, open scrub, and fallow or lightly grazed grasslands with patches of bare soil. Frequently uses recently burnt areas and lateritic or stony plains. Generally avoids dense woodland and tall, rank grass.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1600 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
A ground-dwelling lark of the Sahel, it often goes unnoticed until it flashes its warm rufous rump in flight. It favors sparsely vegetated, dry savannas and frequently uses recently burnt ground for foraging. During breeding it performs brief song-flights and delivers jingling phrases from low perches.
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with low, undulating flight
Social Behavior
Usually seen singly or in pairs, walking or running on open ground and freezing when alarmed. Nests on the ground in a shallow scrape concealed by grass tufts. During breeding, males perform short display flights and sing from low shrubs or termite mounds. Outside breeding, may form small loose groups, especially after rains.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A series of jingling, buzzy trills and short phrases delivered from the ground or during brief fluttering song-flights. Calls include thin chips and soft chatters used in contact and alarm.
Plumage
Sandy to brown upperparts with fine dark streaking, paler buff underparts with light breast streaks, and a distinctly rufous rump and uppertail coverts. Shows a pale supercilium and darker malar area; tail is darker with the rufous rump conspicuous in flight.
Diet
Takes a variety of small invertebrates such as ants, termites, beetles, and grasshoppers, especially in the wet season and when feeding young. Also consumes grass seeds and other small seeds, particularly in the dry season. Often exploits recently burnt ground where insects are abundant and seeds are exposed.
Preferred Environment
Forages on bare or sparsely vegetated ground, along track edges, and in short-grass savanna. Frequently seen on lateritic flats and burnt patches where it picks prey from the surface or probes lightly in the soil.
