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Project Noah Nature School
Eremopterix verticalis
Also known as Grey-backed finch-lark, this is a sparrow sized bird of arid and semi-arid grasslands. Presented here is female, quite nondescript bird - of sandy grey colours, with blackish belly and pale neck collar. Male, whom I did not see, is boldly coloured black-grey-and-white bird - it can be seen in pictures following the African Bird Club provided in references.
Observed in Kunene region, north west of Namibia, in gardens of a camp where we were staying; these gardens leading to 'thornveld' - arid acacia tree-and-shrub landscape beyond. The region is still very dry (but still magnificent and rich in wildlife) at the moment, and grasses that accompany this habitat are rare following a three-year dry-spell.
Curious - it seems that this was a lifer for PN... and it was definitely one for me.
Spotted on Feb 21, 2020
Submitted on Mar 26, 2020
1 Comment
This spotting was just updated, as I received a correct ID from African Bird Club. I previously identified it as a Monotonous lark; which came out wrong, as this is the female Grey-backed Sparrow-lark. Sorry about the confusion, and many thanks to colleagues from African Bird Club.