Editing Lark (section)

==Description==
[[File:Chestnut-backed sparrow-lark (Eremopterix leucotis melanocephalus) male.jpg|thumb|A [[chestnut-backed sparrow-lark]]]]
Larks, or the family Alaudidae, are small- to medium-sized birds, {{convert|12|to|24|cm|1|abbr=on}} in length and {{convert|15|to|75|g|1|abbr=on}} in mass.<ref name = "Kikkawa"/> The smallest larks are likely the ''[[Spizocorys]]'' species, which can weigh only around {{convert|14|g|oz|abbr=on}} in species like the [[pink-billed lark]] and the [[Obbia lark]], while the largest lark is the [[Tibetan lark]].<ref>{{cite book |title=CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses |edition=2nd |editor-first=John B. Jr. |editor-last=Dunning |publisher=CRC Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-4200-6444-5}}</ref>

Like many ground birds, most lark species have long hind claws, which are thought to provide stability while standing.  Most have streaked brown plumage, some boldly marked with black or white. Their dull appearance [[camouflage]]s them on the ground, especially when on the nest. They feed on [[insect]]s and [[seed predation|seeds]]; though adults of most species eat seeds primarily, all species feed their young insects for at least the first week after hatching. Many species dig with their bills to uncover food.  Some larks have heavy bills (reaching an extreme in the [[thick-billed lark]]) for cracking seeds open, while others have long, down-curved bills, which are especially suitable for digging.<ref name = "Kikkawa"/>

Larks are the only passerines that lose all their feathers in their first [[moult]] (in all species whose first moult is known). This may result from the poor quality of the chicks' feathers, which in turn may result from the benefits to the parents of switching the young to a lower-quality diet (seeds), which requires less work from the parents.<ref name = "Kikkawa"/>

In many respects, including long [[bird anatomy|tertial feathers]], larks resemble other ground birds such as [[pipit]]s.  However, in larks the [[Tarsus (skeleton)|tarsus]] (the lowest leg bone, connected to the toes) has only one set of scales on the rear surface, which is rounded.  Pipits and all other [[songbird]]s have two plates of scales on the rear surface, which meet at a protruding rear edge.<ref name="Ridgway 1907"/>

===Calls and song===
Larks have more elaborate calls than most birds, and often extravagant [[bird vocalization|songs]] given in display flight.<ref name = "Kikkawa"/> These melodious sounds (to human ears), combined with a willingness to expand into [[Anthropogenic biome|anthropogenic]] habitats—as long as these are not too intensively managed—have ensured larks a prominent place in literature and music, especially the [[Eurasian skylark]] in northern Europe and the [[crested lark]] and [[calandra lark]] in southern Europe.