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]

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

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Synonyms
  • Calendula
  • Galerita
  • Heliocorys
  • Ptilocorys

Taxonomy and systematics

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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

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The genus contains six species:[5]

ImageScientific nameCommon nameDistribution
Galerida devaSykes's larkcentral India
Galerida modestaSun larkGuinea to South Sudan
Galerida magnirostrisLarge-billed larksouthern Africa
Galerida theklaeThekla larkIberian Peninsula, in northern Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal to Somalia
Galerida cristataCrested larknorthern Africa and in parts of western Asia and China
Galerida malabaricaMalabar larkwestern India.

Extinct species

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

Former species

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

References

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  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.