Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 4, 2026

Galerida

Galerida is a genus of birds in the family Alaudidae. The current scientific name is derived from Latin. Galerida was the name for a lark with a crest, from galerum, "cap". The name Galerida is synonymous with the earlier genus names Calendula, Heliocorys and Ptilocorys.

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Galerida
Crested lark (Galerida cristata)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Alaudidae
Genus: Galerida
F. Boie, 1828
Type species
Alauda cristata
Linnaeus, 1758
Species

See text

Synonyms
  • Calendula
  • Galerita
  • Heliocorys
  • Ptilocorys

Galerida is a genus of birds in the family Alaudidae. The current scientific name is derived from Latin. Galerida was the name for a lark with a crest, from galerum, "cap".1 The name Galerida is synonymous with the earlier genus names Calendula, Heliocorys and Ptilocorys.2

Taxonomy and systematics

The genus Galerida was established by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie in 1828.3 The type species was subsequently designated as the crested lark.4

Extant species

The genus contains six species:5

Image Scientific name Common name Distribution
Galerida deva Sykes's lark central India
Galerida modesta Sun lark Guinea to South Sudan
Galerida magnirostris Large-billed lark southern Africa
Galerida theklae Thekla lark Iberian Peninsula, in northern Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal to Somalia
Galerida cristata Crested lark northern Africa and in parts of western Asia and China
Galerida malabarica Malabar lark western India.

Extinct species

There are at least two fossil species which are included in this genus:

Former species

Formerly, some authorities also considered the following species (or subspecies) as species within the genus Galerida:

References

References

  1. Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 169. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  2. Jobling, James A. (2010-06-30). Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781408133262.
  3. Boie, Friedrich (1828). "Galerida". Isis von Oken (in German). 21. Col 321.
  4. Mayr, Ernst; Greenway, James C. Jr, eds. (1960). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 9. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 55.
  5. AviList Core Team (2025). "AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025". doi:10.2173/avilist.v2025. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  6. Boev, Zlatozar (2012). "Neogene Larks (Aves: Alaudidae (Vigors, 1825)) from Bulgaria" (PDF). Acta Zoologica Bulgarica. 64 (3): 295–318.
  7. Kessler, E (2013). "Neogene songbirds (Aves, Passeriformes) from Hungary". Hantkeniana. 8: 37–149.
  8. "Spizocorys fremantlii - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 2016-12-16.
  9. "Eremalauda dunni - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 2016-12-19.