Mongolian Short-toed Lark Calandrella dukhunensis, an overlooked East Asian species

Per Alström,Gombobaatar Sundev

doi:10.1007/s10336-020-01819-z

Abstract

The eastern subspecies of Greater Short-toed Lark Calandrella brachydactyla dukhunensis has recently been considered a separate species, Calandrella dukhunensis, by several authors based on molecular data. We present supporting evidence for this treatment based on studies of morphology, vocalisations and song-flight, and also present new data on other aspects of its biology based on field studies. We show that its breeding distribution is considerably smaller than previously thought, and is restricted to the eastern half of Mongolia and, marginally, neighbouring parts of China and perhaps Russia.

Highlights

The Greater Short-toed Lark Calandrella brachydactyla was previously considered conspecific with Red-capped Lark C. cinerea, under that name (e.g. Meinertzhagen 1951; Vaurie 1959; Peters 1960), but was later suggested to be different
Journal of Ornithology (2021) 162:165–177 dukhunensis, was more closely related to Hume’s Lark C. acutirostris than to other populations of C. brachydactyla. This was corroborated by Stervander et al (2016) based on genomic data for the same single C. b. dukhunensis sample analysed by Alström et al (2013), collected on the breeding grounds in eastern Mongolia, as well as cytochrome b sequence data from five additional C. b. dukhunensis collected in the winter quarters in central and northeast India
Compared to the most easterly breeding subspecies of C. brachydactyla, C. b. longipennis, the upperside of C. dukhunensis is slightly darker and browner; the breast and flanks are much warmer in colour, rufous-buffish, contrasting with the upperside; and the belly and undertail-coverts are pale buffish-tinged when fresh

Summary

Introduction

The Greater Short-toed Lark Calandrella brachydactyla was previously considered conspecific with Red-capped Lark C. cinerea, under that name (e.g. Meinertzhagen 1951; Vaurie 1959; Peters 1960), but was later suggested to be different (reviewed in Stervander et al 2016). Alström et al (2013) found, based on the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene, that the eastern subspecies, C. b. Journal of Ornithology (2021) 162:165–177 dukhunensis, was more closely related to Hume’s Lark C. acutirostris than to other populations of C. brachydactyla (as well as C. cinerea). This was corroborated by Stervander et al (2016) based on genomic data for the same single C. b. Dukhunensis sample analysed by Alström et al (2013), collected on the breeding grounds in eastern Mongolia, as well as cytochrome b sequence data from five additional C. b. The divergence time between western taxa of C. brachydactyla and C. b. dukhunensis plus C. acutirostris was estimated at 6.0 million years ago (mya) by Alström et al (2013) and c. 5 mya by Stervander et al (2016), their confidence intervals for the dates were broadly overlapping

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Discussion

Conclusion