Bar-tailed Lark

The bar-tailed lark or bar-tailed desert lark (Ammomanes cinctura) is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. Two other species, the rufous-tailed lark and the Cape clapper lark are both also sometimes referred to using the name bar-tailed lark. It is found from Morocco to Pakistan. Its natural habitat is hot deserts. This is in many places a common species, but elsewhere rather less common. It has a very wide distribution and faces no obvious threats, but surveys have shown that it is slowly decreasing in numbers. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern". == Taxonomy and systematics == The bar-tailed lark was originally placed in the genus Melanocorypha. Alternate names for the bar-tailed lark include: bar-tailed finch-lark, black-tailed desert lark, black-tailed lark, and black-tailed sand lark. === Subspecies === Three subspecies are recognized: A. c. cinctura - (Gould, 1839): Found on Cape Verde Islands A. c. arenicolor - (Sundevall, 1850): Originally described as a separate species in the genus Alauda. Found in North African deserts to the Sinai Peninsula and western Arabia Persian rufous-tailed finch lark (A. c. zarudnyi) - Hartert, 1902: Found in eastern Iran, southern Afghanistan…