Chersomanes albofasciata
Silhouette: Gossipguy and T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10%
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 |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Spike-heeled Lark sighting in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 117th most-seen of the 122 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Spike-heeled Lark in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–April and June–November, the lowest months. That is one of Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park's wettest months, with about 25 mm of rain against almost none in July. May has too few records to rate.
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.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Spike-heeled Lark sightings, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Etosha National Park (Namibia, about 20%).
Same family: Alaudidae
The closest relatives of the Spike-heeled Lark that you can see in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (family Alaudidae, Larks) are Grey-backed Sparrow-Lark (about 20%), Sabota Lark (about 20%) and Fawn-colored Lark (about 20%), 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 Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (12 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.
