Plains lark


The plains lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found in Gabon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola and northwest Zambia. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of the rufous-naped lark.

Taxonomy

The plains lark was formally described in 1943 by the English ornithologist Charles M.N. White based on a specimen collected near Balovale in northwest Zambia near the border with Angola. He considered it to be a subspecies of the rufous-naped lark and coined the trinomial name Mirafra africana kabalii. He chose the specific epithet to honour a local collector and hunter Kabali Muzeya. The plains lark is now treated as a separate species and placed in the genus Corypha. This is based on the results of two molecular phylogenetic studies by a team of ornithologists led by Per Alström that were published in 2023 and 2024.
Three subspecies are recognised:
  • C. k. malbranti – Gabon to south DR Congo
  • C. k. kabalii – northeast Angola and northwest Zambia
  • C. k. irwini – southeast Angola