Blog

Order: Passeriformes
is the largest order of birds in the Class Aves. It contains over 140 families with 6.500 identified bird species world wide. They are also called perching birds. 3 toes point forward, 1 backwards called hallux and is long. This is called anisodactyl arrangement. This toe constellation makes it easier to hold on to a branch, twig, wire or blade of grass.

A further adaptation for perching is a tendon running on the rear side of the leg to the underside of the toes is attached to the muscle behind the Tibiotarsus (the large bone between femur and tarsometatarsus). This makes the feet curl automatically once the leg is bent and becomes stiff when landing on a branch. So they can sleep without falling down and using valuable energy.

Bird feet

Passerines are insectivorous or omnivorous meaning feeding on insects, small vertebrates, fruits, seeds and nectar. Omnivorous birds change to more carnivorous during breeding season. Plant material has less protein which is required for the chicks to grow fast and strong.

The name Passeriformes derives from Greek – Passer = Sparrow, Formis = shape. They originated in the Southern Hemisphere around 60 Mio years ago.
Most Passerines have 12 tail feathers.

The eggs are coloured in most species. The number of eggs vary from species to species. The chicks are altricial meaning they hedge blind, without feathers and are helpless. They have reflexes to sense when a parent is landing and open their beak wide to get fed. The beak is fringed with yellow skin to signal the feeding parent where to place food.

Superfamily: Sylvioidea contains around 1.300 bird species. Swallows, Old World Warblers, Larks and Bulbuls are some of them.

Family: Alaudidae – Larks

This family contains mainly brown small to starling seized birds. They live in open savanna and feed on the ground. Their lovely songs can be heard when they perch on a branch or a stone or during their flight display. There are different genera in the family Alaudidae in East Africa. Many have quite strong, slightly curved bills. The length of the tail depends on the species. Some lark species have a long rear claw.

Many species look very similar. Ornithologists use their songs to identify them together with typical features and distribution area. It is advisable to travel with an experienced birding guide to identify the different species. The length and shape of the rear claw can also give a clue of the species. Beaks are usually quite long and curved. The shape and length can help with the identification.

Larks are found almost on all continents, but the highest number of species is in Africa.

Many species have restricted distribution areas and are divided into subspecies. Some are even endemic in Kenya or East Africa or the Horn of Africa.

They are feeding on insects and seeds. They build their nest on the ground which makes them quite vulnerable. Sexual dimorphism is generally minimal. Larks don’t hop on the ground, they walk. They put one foot in front of the other. 

Special in Alaudidae is that they have multiple scutes on the hind side of their tarsi, rather than one single scute as in other song birds.

The habitats range from savanna, grassland, semi arid areas to deserts. Some, like William’s Lark prefers black lava, others sandy or stony ground. A few migrate but many are residents.

To give you as actual information as possible we use Avibase, the books “Birds of Africa South of the Sahara”, “Birds of East Africa”, “Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania”. Then we put the most characteristic information to the photo.

You can also follow us on Facebook “Bird photography Safaris Kenya” and see the numerous species as well as the beautiful photos from Lorenzo Barelli.
Click on the photo for larger view. The names of the photographers are on the photo and in the text. Without the generosity of several amazing bird photographers it had not been possible to create the pages with so many illustrated bird species. Those photos without name are from Elvira Wolfer.

Here you find samples of our birding safaris. We will guide you to find the lark species you like to see. For example the William’s Lark is best find on black lava fields in Shaba National Reserve, while the Thekla Lark is around Lake Turkana.

The distribution area and habitat of each species is mentioned below.