---
title: "Mediterranean Short-toed Lark"
description: "Alaudala rufescens — Birds. The Mediterranean short-toed lark (Alaudala rufescens) is a small passerine bird found in and around the Mediterranean Basin."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/mediterranean-short-toed-lark
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Mediterranean Short-toed Lark

> Alaudala rufescens — Birds. The Mediterranean short-toed lark (Alaudala rufescens) is a small passerine bird found in and around the Mediterranean Basin.

- Scientific name: *Alaudala rufescens*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `grassland` (Fields & meadows)
- iNaturalist observations: 693
- Wikidata: [Q27075424](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q27075424)
- iNaturalist taxon: [546379](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/546379)

## Names

- en: Mediterranean Short-toed Lark
- de: Stummellerche
- es: Terrera Marismeña
- fr: Alouette pispolette
- pt: Calhandrinha-das-marismas
- pl: Skowrończyk mały

## Countries with the most observations

ES (488), DZ (44), MA (36), PT (18), IL (12), TR (7), TN (4)

## Summary

The Mediterranean short-toed lark (Alaudala rufescens) is a small passerine bird found in and around the Mediterranean Basin. It is a common bird with a very wide range from Canary Islands north to the Iberian Peninsula and east throughout North Africa to parts of the Middle East. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern". 
Its range was also previously thought to include parts of Central Asia, and with the Mediterranean and Central Asian clades combined the species was referred to as the lesser short-toed lark. However, a 2020 study split these…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_short-toed_lark

## Photo

![Mediterranean Short-toed Lark](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/mediterranean-short-toed-lark/medium.jpg)

Photo: Mirela · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/103360185

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/mediterranean-short-toed-lark?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).