Foxy lark
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Alaudidae
Genus:	Calendulauda
Species:	C. alopex
Binomial name
Calendulauda alopex (Sharpe, 1890)
Subspecies
See text
Synonyms
Mirafra alopex

The foxy lark or Abyssinian lark (Calendulauda alopex) is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is found in east-central Africa.

Taxonomy and systematics

Formerly, the foxy lark was classified as belonging to the genus Mirafra until moved to Calendulauda in 2009.^[2] Not all authorities recognize this re-classification.^[3] Alternate names for the foxy lark include the Abyssinian fawn-colored lark and Somali fawn-coloured bush lark. Clements has merged this bird with the fawn-colored lark.

Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognized:^[4]

• Masai fawn-coloured lark or Hewitt's clapper lark (C. a. intercedens) - (Reichenow, 1895): Originally described as a separate species in the genus Mirafra. Found from eastern and southern Ethiopia and western Somalia to eastern Uganda, Kenya and northern Tanzania.
• C. a. alopex - (Sharpe, 1890): Found in extreme eastern Ethiopia and northern Somalia

Distribution and habitat

The foxy lark has a large range, with an estimated global extent of occurrence of 100,000-1,000,000 km²,^[5] where it is found in dense, thorny scrubland.^[6]