Alauda arvensis
Silhouette: Gossipguy and T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
The Eurasian skylark (Alauda arvensis), commonly referred to in Europe as the lark, is a passerine bird in the lark family, Alaudidae. It is a widespread species found across Europe and the Palearctic with introduced populations in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and on the Hawaiian Islands. It is a bird of open farmland and heath, known for the song of the male, which is delivered in hovering flight from heights of 50 to 100 metres (160 to 330 ft). The sexes are alike. It is streaked greyish-brown above and on the breast and has a buff-white belly.
The female Eurasian skylark builds an open nest in a shallow depression on open ground well away from trees, bushes and hedges. She lays three to five eggs which she incubates for around 11 days. The chicks are fed by both parents but leave the nest after eight to ten days, well before they can fly. They scatter and hide in the vegetation but continue to be fed by the parents until they can fly at 18 to 20 days of age. Nests are subject to high predation rates by larger birds and small mammals. The parents can have several broods in a single season.
The Eurasian skylark was described by the Swedish naturalist... Wikipedia →
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beijing Wildlife Park | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 2 | Beijing Zoo | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 3 | Inokashira Park Zoo | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 4 | Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Skylark sighting in Prague on a given day, based on 318 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 64th most-seen of the 145 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Skylark in Prague on a given day, against under 5% in August to February, the lowest months. That is one of Prague's wettest months, with about 80 mm of rain against 30 mm in February.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Skylark sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 57 cities where we can rate Skylark sightings, Prague ranks 13th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Berlin (Germany, about 10%), Auckland (New Zealand, about 10%) and Liverpool (United Kingdom, about 10%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Skylark that you can see in Prague (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Great Tit (about 90%), Eurasian Magpie (about 90%) and Blue Tit (about 80%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Skylark is recorded against all the birds logged in Prague (318 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
