Chersomanes albofasciata
Silhouette: Gossipguy and T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The spike-heeled lark (Chersomanes albofasciata) is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is found in southern Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland.
Originally, the spike-heeled lark was considered to belong to the genus Certhilauda (as C. albofasciata). Alternately, it has been called the rufous long-billed lark. Presently, ten subspecies are recognized. Additionally, Beesley's lark was also formerly classified as a subspecies of the spike-heeled lark.
Found in southern and western Botswana, northern South Africa Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 2 | Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Namib-Naukluft National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Spike-heeled Lark sighting in Etosha National Park on a given day, based on 430 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 62nd most-seen of the 260 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Spike-heeled Lark in Etosha National Park on a given day, against about 10% in February–March and May–June, the lowest months. That is one of Etosha National Park's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 75 mm in January.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Spike-heeled Lark sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Spike-heeled Lark sightings, Etosha National Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (South Africa, under 5%) and Namib-Naukluft National Park (Namibia, under 5%).
Same family: Alaudidae
The closest relatives of the Spike-heeled Lark that you can see in Etosha National Park (family Alaudidae, Larks) are Sabota Lark (about 40%), Red-capped Lark (about 40%) and Grey-backed Sparrow-Lark (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Spike-heeled Lark is recorded against all the birds logged in Etosha National Park (430 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
