Botha's lark
Spizocorys fringillaris (Sundevall, 1850)
The botha's lark (Spizocorys fringillaris) is a species in the family Alaudidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 17.9 g to 20.5 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Endangered.
Quick facts about the botha's lark
- Weight
- 17.9 g – 20.5 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- grasslandsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2.4src for Young per litter or clutch
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the botha's lark live?
Not recorded
What is the botha's lark?
Botha's lark (Spizocorys fringillaris) is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae that is endemic to South Africa. It is considered to be South Africa's most endangered bird species with approximately 340 mature individuals left in the wild. Over the last decade, there has been a 90% population decline resulting in the species regionally being uplisted to Critically Endangered in the 2025 Regional Red Data Book of Birds of South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini.
From the Wikipedia article “Botha's lark” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Botha%27s_lark&oldid=1380728836), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the botha's lark endangered?
The botha's lark is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Endangered species.
How is the botha's lark classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyAlaudidae
- genusSpizocorys
- SpeciesSpizocorys fringillaris (Sundevall, 1850)
Synonyms Alauda fringillaris, Botha difficilis, Botha fringillaris, Calandrella fringillaris, Neomirafra fringillaris, Spizocorys difficilis
Other names and names in other languages (30)
- BOLAEnglish
- VaalrivierlewerikAfrikaans
- alosa de BothaCatalan
- skřivánek transvaalskýCzech
- SwasilærkeDanish
- Swaziland LærkeDanish
- FinkenlercheGerman
- fringa alaŭdoEsperanto
- Alondra de BothaSpanish
- laidunkiuruFinnish
- Alouette de BothaFrench
- valska ševaCroatian
- Allodola di BothaItalian
- タンビコヒバリJapanese
- kikilinis mažasis vieversysLithuanian
- Botha-leeuwerikDutch
- Botha's LeeuwerikDutch
- astrildlerkeNorwegian
- skowrończyk łuszczakowatyPolish
- Cotovia de BothaPortuguese
- cotovia-de-bothaPortuguese
- cotovia-tentilhonaPortuguese
- Зябликовый жаворонокRussian
- škovránok bielobruchýSlovak
- bothalärkaSwedish
- herdelärkaSwedish
- Botha ToygarıTurkish
- терера в’юрковаUkrainian
- 博氏沙百灵Chinese
- 博瑟氏沙百靈Chinese
Relatives of the botha's lark
Other species in the same genus Spizocorys.
Pink-billed lark
Spizocorys conirostris
Sclater's lark
Spizocorys sclateri
Stark's lark
Spizocorys starki
Obbia lark
Spizocorys obbiensis
Masked lark
Spizocorys personata
Short-tailed lark
Spizocorys fremantlii
CompareBotha's lark vs Pink-billed larkBotha's lark vs Sclater's larkBotha's lark vs Stark's larkBotha's lark vs Obbia lark
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the botha's lark?
An adult botha's lark weighs 17.9 g – 20.5 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the botha's lark endangered?
The botha's lark is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
What kind of animal is the botha's lark?
The botha's lark (Spizocorys fringillaris) belongs to the family Alaudidae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Botha's lark (Spizocorys fringillaris). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/botha-s-lark
“Botha's lark (Spizocorys fringillaris).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/botha-s-lark.
@misc{botha_s_lark_2026,
title = {Botha's lark (Spizocorys fringillaris)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/botha-s-lark},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}