Sun lark

Sun lark
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Alaudidae
Genus:	Galerida
Species:	G. modesta
Binomial name
Galerida modesta Heuglin, 1864
Subspecies
see text
Synonyms
Heliocorys modesta

The sun lark (Galerida modesta) or Nigerian sun lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It inhabits a broad horizontal area south of the Sahel, ranging from Guinea to South Sudan. Its natural habitats are dry savannah and subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland.

Taxonomy and systematics

Subspecies

Four subspecies are recognized:

• G. m. modesta - Heuglin, 1864: Found from Burkina Faso and northern Ghana east to southern Sudan
• Fouta-Djallon sun lark (G. m. nigrita) - (Grote, 1920): Found in Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and southern Mali
• Ngaundere sun lark (G. m. struempelli, also as G. m. saturata, G. m. strumpelli and G. m. strümpelli) - (Reichenow, 1910): Originally classified as a separate species in genus Mirafra. Found in Cameroon
• Uele sun lark (G. m. bucolica) - (Hartlaub, 1887): Originally classified as a separate species in genus Mirafra. Found in south-eastern Central African Republic, north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and extreme north-western Uganda