Sky Lark
(Alauda arvensis)

Overview

Summary

© Ralph Hocken
For additional photos and vocalizations, visit Dendroica. (Link opens in a new window.)

The Sky Lark was introduced to Canada through a series of releases in 1903 and 1913 (Campbell et al. 1997). A viable population was established in the area around Victoria, British Columbia, and numbers grew quickly to an all-time high in the 1960s. Since then, results from the Christmas Bird Count indicate that the population has decreased significantly.

Designations

Population status

Population estimate

Distribution maps

• Birds of North America Online

Migration strategy, occurrence

Responsibility for conservation of world population

Conservation and management

As an introduced species in Canada, the Sky Lark is not of conservation concern. Habitat loss to urban development is thought to be the main cause of the population decline of this species in Canada, and has restricted it to four sites on the Saanich Peninsula north of Victoria, two of which are threatened with development (Campbell et al. 1997). Intensification of agricultural practices has had also had a negative impact on the population (Campbell et al. 1997b).

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

• conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
• stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
• management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
• other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

References

• Campbell, R.W., L.M. Van Damme and S.R. Johnson. 1997b. Sky Lark (Alauda arvensis), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Campbell, R.W., L.M. Van Damme and S.R. Johnson. 1997b. Sky Lark (Alauda arvensis), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)
• Campbell, R.W., N.K. Dawe, I. McTaggart-Cowan, J.M. Cooper, G.W. Kaiser, M.C.E. McNall, and G.E. J. Smith. 1997. The Birds of British Columbia. Volume 3: Passerines, Flycatchers Through Vireos. UBC Press, Vancouver, BC.