Passeriformes
Alaudidés
Lullula
arborea
The Woodlark is a bird that is identified according to the circumstances by its silhouette, plumage and voice. It is smaller than the Meadow Lark and more compact. By comparison its wings are wider and more rounded. Its tail is clearly shorter and the white is at the tip not on the outer edges. Regarding its plumage it is necessary to look at the head which shows clear white eyebrows that join together on the neck and reddish-ochre ear coverts, usually with a light patch under the eye. Then one should take interest in the wing edge at the hand level where the characteristic insignia of the species is found. The alula is largely whitish and just behind are black primary coverts with white at the tip, this giving a visible longitudinal "white-black-white" insignia. Its voice will be dealt with in the next chapter. One may also note a thinner beak, pink at the base of the lower mandible, and a more elongated posterior claw.
Otherwise the plumage is rather similar. Upperparts brown with blackish-brown streaks. Underparts cream white with blackish-brown streaks, fine on the chest and indiscernible on the flanks. On the other hand, from underneath in flight, the aspect is very different to that of the Meadow Lark. The dark remiges contrast with the white coverts and the black tail with white tip contrasts with the white undertail coverts.
The juvenile has the tectrix of the head, mantle and back as well as the alar and tertiary coverts dark-brown with a wide beige-ochre border and white tip. This gives the head a mottled look and the upperparts a scaly look. Its head pattern is more noticeable. Thus it can be seen more clearly than the adult's the black moustache, white sub-moustache and black malear line bordering the white throat.There is no sexual dimorphism. The pallida subspecies from Southern Europe is a slightly paler and grayer.
The Woodlark's song consists of repeated notes whose tone decreases towards the end, giving an impression of melancholy. The most classic tune is lululululu..., from which the species gets its name. Notes may differ from moment to moment and from male to male. There are many variations such as tiu tiu tiu...wuitu wuitu wuitu...Tui Tui Tui...lulululululu...pipipipipi...tututututu...pli pli pli yutu yutu yutu etc. It can sing at night in quiet weather.
The contact call is a bi- or trisyllabic modulated and melancholy sound, like duliu, diwu, or other similar sounds. The flight call is of the same type, like diliu diTuitu and its variants. It can be easily heard by the ear.
The Woodlark occurs in open and semi-open habitats, natural or disturbed, on well-drained soils with low and scattered herbaceous cover, from sea level to 2000 m altitude (higher in North Africa).
The Woodlark has most of its activity on the ground, but if it is compared to the Skylark which rarely perches on a stake, bush or another low perch, it rather perches regularly even on high ground.
The flight of the Woodlark is a rather slow flight, slightly undulating, which, associated with the silhouette and the cry, is typical. The male singer flies over his territory with a rather slow and festooned flight due to the sequences of beats quite spaced.
The Woodlark looks for its food on the ground or in low herbaceous vegetation. Its diet is mixed, being both granivorous and insectivorous.
The Woodlark is monogamous and territorial in spring. The breeding season starts in March in the south, in April and May further north, and ends in July.
The Woodlark nests in Europe in temperate and Mediterranean climates, extending up to the Ural Mountains in Russia. To the north, it can only be found in the extreme south of England, Sweden, and Finland. To the south, it is a resident, usually at higher altitudes, in the Maghreb, the Middle East, Asia Minor, around the Black Sea, the Caucasusregion, and Iran south of the Caspian (Mts Elbourz) and up to the Persian Gulf around the Zagros Mountains. Birds in the north of the range (northern Europe, Russia) and from the east (central Asia Minor and Caucasus and Persian regions) are migratory and spend the winter around the Mediterranean and to the west of the Black Sea. Birds from the north and north-east of France do not occur in winter.
The species is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN's list and is therefore not currently threatened, despite its nearly restricted distribution to Europe.