• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic note
Sister to H. ruddi (Alström et al. 2013a). Morphological, vocal and genetic analysis recently demonstrated that form sidamoensis, treated as a species in HBW, belongs in present species, and may not even be subspecifically distinct; a new population in E Ethiopia simultaneously shown also to belong to nominate (Spottiswoode et al. 2013).We follow Donald & Alström (in prep) in treating Liben Lark as monotypic.

Taxonomic source(s)
Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International. 2021. Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 6. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v6_Dec21.zip.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
A3bc; C1+2a(i)	A3bc; B2ab(ii,iii,v); C2a(i); D	A3bc; B1ab(ii,iii,v)+2ab(ii,iii,v); C2a(i); D1

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2021	Critically Endangered	A3bc; C1+2a(i)
2018	Critically Endangered	A3bc; C1+2a(i)
2016	Critically Endangered	A3bc; C1+2a(i)
2015	Critically Endangered	A3bc+4bc; C1+2a(i)
2012	Not Recognised
2008	Not Recognised
2004	Not Recognised
2000	Not Recognised
1994	Not Recognised
1988	Not Recognised

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	6,000 km2	good
Area of Occupancy (breeding/resident)	224 km2	good
Number of locations	2	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	50-249 mature individuals	good	estimated	2015
Population trend	decreasing	poor	inferred	-
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	10-19%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	80-99%	-	-	-
Generation length	3.24 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	2	-	-	-

Population justification: The total population is now likely to number fewer than 250 individuals, with fewer than 50 individuals in each of the two subpopulations.

Trend justification: Both the populations on the Liben Plain and at Jijiga are thought to be declining. On the Liben Plain, the population is inferred to be declining because the species is restricted to grassland in the calcareous plateau east and south of Negele (L. Borghesio in litt. 2005) which decreased in area by about 30% between 1973 and 2002, and is being rapidly encroached by shrubs, agriculture and homesteads. The remaining area is being rapidly degraded due to overgrazing by livestock. Over 15% of remaining habitat on the Liben plain was lost in a single year, suggesting that the rate of decline may now be higher (P. F. Donald in litt. 2012). Habitat loss is expected to take place at a similar rate at Jijiga given that cultivation in the area is apparently ongoing (Spottiswoode et al. 2013). The total population can therefore be projected to undergo a reduction of greater than 80% in ten years, and just under 50% in one generation.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Ethiopia	extant	native	yes
Somalia	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Ethiopia	Liben plains and Negele woodlands
Somalia	Boorama plains

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	major	resident
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)		major	resident
Savanna	Dry	major	resident
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	major	resident
Altitude	1400 - 1600 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Small-holder farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Nomadic grazing	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion, Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Climate change & severe weather	Droughts	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Species mortality
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Whole (>90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation
Human intrusions & disturbance	War, civil unrest & military exercises	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Likely to Return		Minority (<50%)		No decline		Past Impact
		Stresses Species disturbance
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Vachellia drepanolobium	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Natural system modifications	Fire & fire suppression - Supression in fire frequency/intensity	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Liben Lark Heteromirafra archeri. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/liben-lark-heteromirafra-archeri on 22/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 22/12/2024.