New science/studies have resulted in the highly expected splitting of Horned Lark Eremophila alpestris into no fewer than six
species by Drovetski et al. (2014).
Of
relevance in a Western Palearctic context are:
ELWES'S SHORE LARK: E.
elwesi of Tibet
etc. (to be renamed if the uninvestigated ssp longirostris proves to
belong to this clade).
CENTRAL ASIATIC SHORE LARK E.
penicillata
including ‘birds inhabiting alpine zone of Palearctic mountains from
southeastern Europe to Tian Shan’ (ssp albigula is found in Xinjiang,
China).
SHORE LARK E.
flava ‘breeding in
the tundra from Scandinavia to Amguema River in Chukotka’ (and occurring S in
winter at least to Beijing).
MONGOLIAN SHORE LARK E.
brandti ‘breeding in aridlands from the
northwestern border of Kazakhstan to northeastern Inner Mongolia in China’ (and
occurring S in winter at least to Beijing).
In addition
are ATLAS SHORE LARK E. atlas ‘inhabiting Atlas mountains of Morocco’ and NORTH AMERICAN HORNED LARK E.
alpestris of the New World.
The paper’s
title is ‘Limited Phylogeographic Signal in Sex-Linked and Autosomnal Loci
Despite Geographically, Ecologically, and Phenotypically Concordant Structure of
mtDNA Variation in the Holarctic Avian Genus Eremophila’ PloS ONE 9(1).
Of relevance to the UK400 Club, this authority recognises the following British and Irish record -:
North American Horned Lark, St Agnes & Tresco, Scilly, 2nd-31st October 2001 (Birding World 15: 111-120)
Yet again
one has to look no further than http://www.netfugl.dk/ to find the right images, in
this case representatives of all six Horned Lark spp:
ELWES’S
HORNED LARK E.
elwesi of Tibet etc.
CENTRAL
ASIATIC HORNED LARK
E. penicillata including ‘birds inhabiting alpine zone of Palearctic
mountains from southeastern Europe to Tian Shan’ (ssp albigula is found
in Xinjiang, China).
SHORE LARK E.
flava ‘breeding in the tundra from Scandinavia to Amguema River in Chukotka’
(and occuring S in winter at least to Beijing).
MONGOLIAN SHORE LARK E.
brandti ‘breeding in aridlands from the northwestern border of
Kazakhstan to northeastern Inner Mongolia in China’ (and occuring S in winter at
least to Beijing).
ATLAS
HORNED LARK E.
atlas ‘inhabiting Atlas mountains of Morocco’ &
NORTH AMERICAN
HORNED LARK E.
alpestris of the New World.
