Asian short-toed lark

Asian short-toed lark
Conservation status
Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Alaudidae
Genus:	Alaudala
Species:	A. cheleensis
Binomial name
Alaudala cheleensis Swinhoe, 1871
Synonyms
Alaudula cheleënsis Calandrella cheelensis Calandrella cheleensis Calandrella rufescens cheleensis

The Asian short-toed lark (Alaudala cheleensis) is a species of lark in the Alaudidae family. It is found from south-central to eastern Asia.

Taxonomy and systematics

Formerly or presently, some authorities have considered the Asian short-toed lark to belong to the genus Calandrella or to be a subspecies of the lesser short-toed lark. Alternate names for the Asian short-toed lark include the Asiatic short-toed lark, Eastern short-toed lark (a name also used by the Steppe greater short-toed lark), grey short-toed lark, Mongolian short-toed lark (not to be confused with the species of the same name, Calandrella dukhunensis), salined lark and salt-marsh lark.

Subspecies

Six subspecies are recognized:^[1]

• Kazakhstan lesser short-toed lark (A. c. leucophaea) - (Severtsov, 1873): Originally described as a separate species in the genus Calandrella. Found from Kazakhstan to Turkmenistan
• A. c. seebohmi - Sharpe, 1890: Originally described as a separate species. Found in north-western China
• A. c. tuvinica - (Stepanyan, 1975): Found in north-western Mongolia and southern Russia
• A. c. cheleensis - Swinhoe, 1871: Found in south-central Siberia, north-eastern Mongolia and north-eastern China
• A. c. kukunoorensis - Przewalski, 1876: Found in west-central China
• A. c. beicki - (Meise, 1933): Found in southern Mongolia and north-central China

References