Africa: A bird species that has so far been little studied and had been considered missing for almost a century has now been rediscovered. In early February 2026, the rusty bush lark (Calendulauda rufa) was recorded alive again in Chad for the first time in decades.
The rusty bush lark lives in the dry savannas and semi-deserts of the Sahel and occurs mainly in Niger, Chad, and Sudan. It prefers open, barren landscapes with sparse vegetation, rocky hill country, and lightly vegetated scrub.
The species was first scientifically described in 1920 by the British ornithologist Hubert Lynes, who collected six specimens in Central Darfur in Sudan. Despite its large potential range, its actual population status remained largely unknown for decades. The last confirmed record dates from May 1931, when the naturalist George Latimer Bates collected several specimens in what is now Niger. He gave the locality as “Tawa, north of Sokoto”—an area near today’s Tahoua Region in the Sahel.
Rediscovery & scientific confirmation
On February 2, 2026, French ornithologists Pierre Defos du Rau and Julien Birard, together with the Chadian conservation expert Idriss Dapsia, discovered a rusty bush lark in its natural habitat in the Guéra region in the south-central part of Chad. The researchers were able to document the species photographically for the first time.
The rediscovery took place as part of an international research team that included both Chadian ornithologists from the Direction de la Faune et des Aires Protégées du Tchad (DFAP) and French experts from the Office Français de la Biodiversité (OFB) and Tour du Valat (TdV). The expedition was part of the FAO-coordinated RESSOURCE+ project. Further details on the collaboration and project context were published in a brief note by Tour du Valat.
The researchers published their observation on the eBird platform and supplemented it with a detailed description and nine photos of the bird. In their checklist, they highlighted several typical features, including a relatively long, slender bill, a pale supercilium, reddish ear coverts, and a “scaly”-looking, rust-red back.
The record was subsequently reviewed and confirmed by the lark expert Paul Donald of BirdLife International. This provides the first confirmed record of a living individual in almost 100 years. At the same time, there are now reliable photographs of a living bird for the first time—and, for the first time in decades, certainty that the rusty bush lark is not extinct.
Long missing, but never officially extinct
The species occurs in parts of Niger, Chad, and Sudan. Its potential range is large and is estimated at around 470,000 km², even though many regions have so far hardly been surveyed ornithologically.
(© modified after Haller1962, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
Despite the lack of records for decades, the rusty lark was never officially classified as extinct. It did appear on the list of lost bird species of the Search for Lost Birds initiative, but on the IUCN Red List it has always been listed as Least Concern.
The decisive factor is above all its very large potential range. The species does not meet the thresholds for being threatened by area, population size, or population trend. Although the global number of individuals has never been precisely determined, the rusty bush lark is considered locally quite common in parts of its range, but overall rather rare.
According to the IUCN, there is currently no evidence of a long-term population decline or serious threats. The population trend is therefore considered stable.
In addition, large parts of its habitat are difficult to access, politically unstable, and sensitive in terms of security. Many regions of the Sahel are only rarely surveyed scientifically—one of the main reasons why the species remained undetected for so long and its actual population status remained unclear for decades.
Characteristics of the rusty bush lark
With a body length of about 14 centimeters, the rusty bush lark is slightly smaller than the Eurasian skylark (Alauda arvensis), which is widespread in Central Europe. Typical features include its rust-red to reddish-brown upperparts, a very pale, sandy underside, and dark tail feathers with reddish tones.
There is no striking sexual dimorphism: males and females are hardly distinguishable externally. According to the original describer Hubert Lynes, females are only smaller than males.
In the rediscovered nominate form (Calendulauda rufa rufa), two color morphs occur, differing mainly in the strength of the dark shaft streaks on the upperparts.
Traditionally, three subspecies are distinguished:
- Calendulauda rufa rufa – Niger, Chad, and western Sudan
- C. r. nigriticola – Mali to Niger
- C. r. lynesi – central Sudan
The rusty bush lark feeds mainly on insects, other arthropods, and seeds. Little is known so far about its breeding. There are also only a few reliable details about its song. Even during the rediscovery in 2026, no call could be documented.
(© 120, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
Why this rediscovery matters
The find shows how incomplete our knowledge of many species still is—especially in hard-to-reach and politically unstable regions of Africa. The rediscovery of the rusty bush lark underscores the importance of targeted field research, the value of international collaboration, and the role of digital platforms such as eBird in documenting biodiversity.
The discovery also makes clear: species have not necessarily disappeared just because they have not been observed for decades. Particularly in poorly studied regions, other “lost” species may still have survived.
With the new record of Calendulauda rufa, another bird species can now be removed from the Search for Lost Birds initiative’s list. As early as last year, the rediscoveries of two other missing African bird species became known: the black-lored waxbill, which had not been documented for around 70 years, and the black-tailed cisticola, which was considered missing for 14 years.
Sources
- BirdGuides. (2026, 7 February). Rusty Bush Lark seen for first time in 94 years. BirdGuides.
https://www.birdguides.com/news/rusty-bush-lark-seen-for-first-time-in-94-years/ - BirdLife International. 2024. Calendulauda rufa. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2024: e.T22717101A263888587. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-2.RLTS.T22717101A263888587.en. Accessed on 11 February 2026.
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (2026). Checklist S297663197: Rusty Bush Lark / Calendulauda rufa observed in Chad [eBird Checklist]. eBird. https://ebird.org/checklist/S297663197
- Lynes, H. (1920). Mirafra rufa sp. nov. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club, 41, 15.
About the author: Doreen Fräßdorf
Doreen Fräßdorf is the author and publisher of artensterben.de. She researches and writes about extinct and endangered species in the modern era, with a focus on red lists, scientific studies, historical sources, and current conservation efforts. The goal is a clear, evidence-based overview of biodiversity loss and species protection.
She is also the author of a non-fiction book about extinct modern-era mammals.
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