Crested lark

    Galerida cristata

Castilian: Cogujada común

Catalan: Cogullada vulgar

Gallego: Cotovía cristada

Euskera: Kutturlio arrunta

CLASIFICACIÓN:

Orden: Passeriformes

Family: Alaudidae

Migratory status: Permanent resident

CONSERVATION STATUS:

On the National List of Threatened Species, it appears in the “Of Special Interest” category. In the 2004 edition of the Red Book of Spanish Birds (Libro Rojo de las Aves de España) it is listed as “Not Evaluated”.

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THREATS

The principal threat is agricultural intensification, but this species is still abundant in Spain.

Length / size: 18 cm / 29-38 cm

Identification: Medium-sized lark that is brown and has dark stripes, a characteristic crest on its head, and a facial pattern with very defined streaks. In flight its wide wings and short tail, which is dark in the middle and rust-coloured at the edges, are visible.

Song: It has a recognisable call "tooee-tee-too", that goes up and down in pitch.

Diet: It feeds on both invertebrates and seeds, shoots and leaves; in winter plant matter predominates in its diet.

Reproduction: It begins in March. It is a solitary and territorial species during this period. It positions the nest in a depression in the ground, covering it with leaves and twigs, and sometimes placing it under the cover of a bush. The female incubates, although the male can occasionally help, and both parents participate in feeding the chicks.

HABITAT

It occupies grain-producing steppes in the interior, open areas with trees, such as olive groves or grasslands, and is even common around towns, cities, motorways and roads.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: It is distributed throughout the entire Mediterranean region, although it is absent in Galicia, the Cantabrian coast, the Basque mountains, the Pyrenees, and the Balearic and Canary Islands.

In Castile and León: It is distributed throughout the entire community, but avoids mountainous areas.

Movements and migrations: The Iberian populations make short-distance movements; however, the northernmost European populations migrate to our latitudes and northern Africa for the winter.

POPULATION

In Spain: There is an estimated population of half a million breeding pairs.

In Castile and León: