Maghreb lark
The Maghreb lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found in the Maghreb desert of north-eastern Africa.The Maghreb lark was previously considered to be a subspecies of the crested lark. It was proved to have diverged genetically from the latter species 1.9 million years ago was accepted as a separate species in 2009. Alban Guillaumet and colleagues noted the distinctiveness of populations from the Maghreb - birds in the dryer parts of Morocco and Tunisia had longer bills while those in more coastal northern parts had shorter bills typical of the European subspecies. The authors sampled the mitochondrial DNA and found they were distinct genetically. The species name is derived from the Ancient Greek words makros "long" and rhynchos "bill".Subspecies
Two subspecies are recognized:
- Hauts Plateaux Maghreb lark - Loche, 1860: Originally described as a separate species. Found in eastern Morocco and north-western Algeria
- North-west Saharan Maghreb lark or Long-billed Maghreb lark - Tristram, 1859: Found in southern Morocco and western Algeria to west-central Mauritania
