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The Raso Lark, (Alauda razae) is a small passerine bird with a higly restricted range, being found only on the island of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands. This critically endangered member of the Alaudidae lives in highly arid terrain, and is considered one of the least known birds in the western Palaearctic region, due to its remoteness and the lack of much ornithological study on the archipelago as a whole.

1 Description

The Raso Lark is restricted to one small island in the Cape Verde group, although historically it is believed to have also ranged over two other islands, Branco Island and Sao Vicente Island ; all three of these islands were joined in the last Ice Age. The island itself has no permanent water and has never been inhabited by people, a fact that has probably saved the lark from extinction until this point.

The Razo Lark feeds by digging in the ground for insect larvae , and, in the case of males, bulbs of the nutsedge. Both sexes also feed on grass seeds, and insects such as butterflies, moths and grasshoppers. The difference in feeding behaviour accounts for a significant difference in bill size, with the males averaging longer. The females lay one to three eggs after the rains. Courtship behaviour is like that of the SkylarkFor other uses see Skylark (disambiguation . Skylark : Animalia : Chordata : Aves : Passeriformes : Alaudidae Alauda arvensis Binomial name Alauda arvensis Linnaeus, 1758 The Skylark Alauda arvensis breeds across most of Europe and Asia and in the mountai. The incubation time is thought to be 15 days.

2 Threats to the Raso Lark

The tiny population size, last thought to be around 70 birds, coupled with the highly skewed sex ration (around 2 males to each female) make this species one of real concern. The reproductive success of the birds is very low, mostly due to predation by the near- endemicEndemic in a broad sense, can mean belonging or native to, characteristic of, or prevalent in a particular geography, race, field, area, or environment; Native to an area or scope. For instance, AIDS is said to be endemic in Africa. It also has two specif Cape Verde giant gecko . Although the island is currently free of mammalian predatorThis snapping turtle is trying to make a mealof a Canada goose, but the goose is too wary. A predator is an animal or other organism that hunts and kills other organisms for food in an act called predation . Most predators are carnivores. Some predators as such as ratThis is an article about wild rats; for pet rats, see Fancy rat 50 species; see text Several subfamilies of Muridsinclude animals called rats. A rat is a small omnivorous rodent of the genus Rattus . Rats are mammals somewhat bigger than their relatives ts or feral catA feral cat is a cat in a feral or wild state. They are distinguished from wild cats since they are domestic cats that live without human care as opposed to being truly wild. Feral cats are generally cats that grow up without direct human interactionations, and is a closed reserve, the likelihood of a single unauthorized visit causing massive damage remains high. It has been suggested that establishing a second population on the gecko-free island of Santa Luzia , which historically might also have had the lark, should be conservation priority.