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 sediments. This exposed the dolerite sills, which were more resistant to erosion than the Karoo sediments, forming one of the most characteristic features of the Karoo landscape, namely the flat topped hills, called "Karoo Koppies". The geology of the region bears no resemblance to that of the Great Karoo (see the diagram on the left, of a NS geological cross-section through the Little and Great Karoos). The valley is an integral part of the Cape Fold Mountain Belt, with the two ranges on either side composed of extremely hard, erosion-resistant, quartzitic sandstone belonging to the 450- to 510-million-year-old Table Mountain