NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Thekla Lark
Galerida theklae A. E. Brehm, 1857
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Thekla's lark (Galerida theklae), also known as the Thekla lark, is a species of lark that breeds on the Iberian Peninsula and in North and East Africa south to Kenya. It is a sedentary (non-migratory) species. This is a common bird of dry open country, often at some altitude. Thekla's lark was named by Alfred Edmund Brehm in 1857 for his recently deceased sister Thekla Brehm (1833–1857). The name is a modern Greek one, Θέκλα (Thekla), which comes from ancient Greek Θεόκλεια (Theokleia) derived from θεός (theos, "god") and κλέος (kleos, "glory" or "honour"). The population is declining in parts of Spain, but this is a common bird with a very wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
Wikipedia contributors, Thekla's lark; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:18:38.682628+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Galerida theklae A. E. Brehm, 1857
- Name authority
- A. E. Brehm, 1857
- Common name
- Thekla Lark
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Alaudidae
- Genus
- Galerida
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyAlaudidae Vigors, 1825
- genusGalerida F. Boie, 1828
- speciesGalerida theklae A. E. Brehm, 1857
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Galerida. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Sykes's LarkGalerida deva (Sykes, 1832) | AlaudidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Large-billed LarkGalerida magnirostris (Stephens, 1826) | AlaudidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Crested LarkGalerida cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) | AlaudidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Maghreb LarkGalerida macrorhyncha Tristram, 1859 | AlaudidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Malabar LarkGalerida malabarica (Scopoli, 1786) | AlaudidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Sun LarkGalerida modesta Heuglin, 1864 | AlaudidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Galerida theclae theclae A. E. Brehm, 1857 A. E. Brehm, 1857 | synonym |
| Galerita theclae (A. E. Brehm, 1857) (A. E. Brehm, 1857) | synonym |
| Alauda theklae (A. E. Brehm, 1857) (A. E. Brehm, 1857) | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Europe & Northern Asia (excluding China)
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Brehm, & Alfred Edmund. (1857). Vorläufige Zusammenstellung der Vögel Spaniens mit kritischer Benutzung der bisher von spanischen Ornithologen herausgegebenen Verzeishnisse. Allgemeine Deutsche Naturhistorische Zeitung, Neue Folge, Vol. 3. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3F4BN. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.