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

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A., Fishpool, L.D.C., Boesman, P. and Kirwan, G.M. 2016. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2018	Least Concern
2016	Data Deficient
2012	Data Deficient
2008	Data Deficient
2004	Data Deficient
2000	Data Deficient
1994	Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1988	Near Threatened

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)	51,800 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	200000 mature individuals	poor	-	-
Population trend	stable	-	suspected	-
Generation length	3.8 years	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	1-89%	-	-	-

Population justification: The population size of this species has not been quantified, but it is described as locally common. From sightings of 16 individuals over 3 sites, a potential density of 0.61 individuals/ha was estimated (Magin 2013, Kipkoech et al. unpubl.) for the northern part of its range (north of Marsabit). Githuru et al. (unpubl.) covered the southern part of its range (between Isiolo and Garba Tula) and found very similar population density estimates (0.7 ± 0.14 individuals/ha). Githuru et al. highlight that they failed to find the species in some areas of suitable habitat; thus, these values may not be representative for the whole range and the density estimates should only be used a rough gauge rather than accurately estimating the global population size. Doing this, and assuming only a proportion of its range is occupied gives a population size estimate of >200,000 mature individuals. This could still be a large overestimate, but it does highlight that the overall population size is likely above 10,000 mature individuals.

Trend justification: The species's habitat is potentially threatened by livestock grazing and encroachment, but it is unclear whether this is actually affecting the species, and at the moment there is no evidence that they having an impact (Githiru et al. unpubl., Kipkoech et al. unpubl.). As such, the population trend is considered to be stable.

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Kenya	Dida Galgalu desert
Kenya	Shaba National Reserve

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	major	resident
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)		major	resident
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	major	resident
Altitude	600 - 1350 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		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Nomadic grazing	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Species disturbance, Ecosystem degradation

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Williams's Lark Mirafra williamsi. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/williamss-lark-mirafra-williamsi on 23/12/2024.
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 23/12/2024.