Black Lark

Melanocorypha yeltoniensis (Forster, JR, 1768)

Black Lark, Melanocorypha yeltoniensis, breeds in the Palearctic, in southern Russia and Kazakhstan, where it lives on open steppe, often close to water. It is a lark in the family Alaudidae. The adult male is strikingly black, with pale edging on some back feathers and a bill that is yellowish or pink. The female is much less distinctive, with dark mottling above, a paler underside, and black legs and underwing. It nests on the ground, lays 4–5 eggs, and eats seeds and insects. In winter it gathers in groups.

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Alaudidae — Larks

Breeding range

Palearctic: s Russia and Kazakhstan