Karoo lark Karoo lark "The Karoo lark should not be confused with the similarly named Karoo long-billed lark." The Karoo lark ("Calendulauda albescens") or red-backed lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is endemic to South Africa where its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. The Karoo lark was originally classified in the genus "Alauda" and subsequently "Mirafra" and "Certhilauda", until moved to "Calendulauda" by the IOC in 2009. Not all authorities have followed this taxonomy change. Four subspecies are recognized: Formerly, some authorities considered both the dune lark (as "Certhilauda albescens erythrochlamys") and Barlow's lark
Karoo Karoo is distinctively divided into the Great Karoo and the Little Karoo by the Swartberg Mountain Range, which runs east-west, parallel to the southern coastline, but is separated from the sea by another east-west range called the Outeniqua–Langeberg Mountains. The Great Karoo lies to the north of the Swartberg range; the Little Karoo is to the south of it. The only sharp and definite boundary of the Great Karoo is formed by the most inland ranges of Cape Fold Mountains to the south and south-west. The extent of the Karoo to the north is vague, fading gradually and almost imperceptibly