Written by Matthew Orolowitz and published on 11 September 2026
Across Africa, two highly specialized grassland larks tell a story about the challenges facing some of the continent’s most threatened birds. In South Africa, Rudd’s Lark has experienced a documented population decline. Thousands of kilometers away, the Liben Lark in Ethiopia has followed a similarly concerning trajectory. Although these species occupy very different landscapes, their stories share an important connection: both depend on grasslands that are changing, and both highlight the importance of understanding and conserving the habitats on which they rely.
Rudd’s Lark has a long history of decline within South Africa’s highland grasslands. The species has disappeared from some former strongholds and declined substantially in others, reflecting broader changes across the grassland landscape, including habitat transformation, changes in land use and shifts in management practices. Its story reminds us that declines in specialized grassland birds can develop over many years, often as the cumulative result of multiple pressures.
One of the best places to find Rudd’s Lark is nearby the small town of Wakkerstroom in South Africa.
The story of the Liben Lark provides another perspective and an opportunity to learn from what has happened elsewhere on the continent.
On the Liben Plain in southern Ethiopia, the Liben Lark is closely associated with open grassland within a pastoral landscape. As agricultural expansion and changes in land use increased, the condition and extent of suitable habitat declined. Between 2007 and 2013, the estimated number of singing males fell from around 279 to just 51.
Yet the Liben Lark story is not simply one of decline. It also demonstrates what can be achieved when conservation works alongside the people who live and work in these landscapes.
Conservation initiatives established communal grassland reserves, known as kallos, where grazing could be managed to improve grassland conditions. These areas helped restore taller, denser grassland suitable for the lark while also providing dry-season fodder for livestock. The approach recognized that conserving biodiversity and maintaining productive landscapes need not be opposing goals. This provides an important lesson for grassland conservation in South Africa.
BirdLife South Africa, with the support of Birding Ecotours, is working to better understand and address the decline of threatened grassland birds through research, monitoring and collaboration with landowners. The aim is not simply to protect individual birds, but to understand the ecological conditions they require and identify practical conservation actions that can work within the realities of working grassland landscapes.
The Liben Lark demonstrates why acting quickly matters. Once populations become very small and fragmented, recovering them becomes increasingly difficult. Understanding the causes of decline and working collaboratively with the people who manage these landscapes gives conservation a much better chance of success. Its experience is therefore both a warning and an opportunity to learn. It shows the consequences of losing and degrading grassland habitat but also demonstrates the value of finding solutions that benefit biodiversity and the people who depend on these landscapes.
Across one continent, two larks are telling us something important: conserving grassland birds means conserving the landscapes they share with people.
BirdLife South Africa, with the support of Birding Ecotours, is working to ensure that we learn these lessons while there is still time to make a difference.
