.
The reproductive period of the Dupont’s lark goes from the final of February to the beginning of July in the Iberian Peninsula, up to three breeding attempts. The Dupont’s lark builds its nest on the ground, under small bushes or herbaceous bushes. It produces three to five eggs in each lay and the incubation period is about 12-13 days. Chicken remain 8 days in the nest, their diet is based on coleopteran and lepidopteran larvae. The Dupont’s lark has a rate between 46% and 84% of depredation in the nest. The secondary sex-ratio amounts to 0.5, showing an equal number of males and females among baby birds. The adult sex-ratio is biased towards males with values between 0.61 and 0.79.
The domestic cat (Felis catus), the fox (Vulpes vulpes) and the Ocellated lizard (Timon lepidus) have been identified as predators of their nests. The parasites of the Dupont’s lark were poorly studied although they may be common with the ones described in the rest of the lark population. The registered malaria parasite infection rate rises to 9.8%.
It has an unsociable and shy behaviour and it is always on the move, periods of greater singing activity take place at dawn or at night. The species has a strong territorial behaviour, with punctual registers in mixed bands in winter. The vital domain is estimated at 7,4ha and the area of the heart at 3,6ha. The vital domain differs between age classes and sexes, between the breeding and post breeding periods, and shows a high inter-annual variation. Its spatial behaviour is very variable, with registers of movements that are 7-8 times higher than the average. It is apparently a monogamous bird, although it may be a social monogamy with extra-pair copulation.
Enciclopedia virtual de los vertebrados españoles (Virtual encyclopaedia on Spanish vertebrates)
Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales CSIC (National Natural Science Museum)
Julia Gómez-Catasús, Adrián Barrero, Vicente Garza y Juan Traba
TEG-UAM (Ecological Research and Ecosystem Preservation Group)
Ecology Department. Autonomous University of Madrid
Publication date: 2-12-2016
Gómez-Catasús, J., Barrero, A., Garza, V., Traba, J. (2016). Alondra ricotí – Chersophilus duponti. En: Enciclopedia Virtual de los Vertebrados Españoles. Salvador, A., Morales, M. B. (Eds.). Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid. http://www.vertebradosibericos.org
TEG - UAM