Lesser Short-toed Lark (Calandrella rufescens)

Steppe bird measuring up to 13-14 cm in length. Its plumage is cryptic, greyish-brown on the back and whitish on the underparts, with a pronounced vertical streak on the breast and a faint but visible line over the eyes. It has a short stubby bill and a small crest that it raises when alarmed. This species is from the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa, Middle East and Asia, but is also found in the Canary Islands, specifically in Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria and Tenerife, although it is currently considered extinct in the latter. It nests on La Graciosa and has also been known to breed sporadically on Alegranza and Lobos. It inhabits stony plains, jables of pumice or sandy soils, open crops and gently sloping rocky hillsides, and is occasionally seen on malpaíses or badlands and wet pastures. It is found from sea level up to 750 m. It feeds on grains and seeds, the tender shoots of herbaceous plants and insects, including larvae. During the breeding season it often captures small grasshoppers to feed its chicks. The breeding season is from January to June and clutches of 2-5 eggs are laid at least twice a year. Nests are built on the ground, under a herbaceous plant or small bush, or between rocks. Interestingly, chicks do not leave the nest until they are ready to fly. Once the breeding season is over, large flocks of 200-300 birds can gather, but this is currently only witnessed in Fuerteventura and Lanzarote. The lesser short-toed lark is still abundant on these two islands, but numbers are clearly dwindling in Gran Canaria and colonies have disappeared from Tenerife altogether. Evolution of populations is therefore negative. Numbers for all the Canary Islands are estimated at between 10 000 and 20 000 pairs, but these figures mask the true conservation status of the species. Factors that have led to this situation include habitat alteration and loss, nest predation by cats and rats and, most certainly, the Algerian hedgehog, insecticides used on crops, human encroachment and specimens caught to be kept in captivity. Other threats stem from the disappearance of vegetation in certain areas (e.g., airports inhabited by the species), the invasion of exotic flora or diseases such as fowl pox. Currently, all lesser short-toed larks in the Canaries are regarded as belonging to a single species, C. rufescens rufescens, and not to two (including C. rufescens polatzeki, considered endemic to the eastern islands), as was believed until recently.