February 2026: Rediscovery of Rusty Lark and very first photos in the wild!
03 Feb 2026 [JBr]On 2 February 2026, Julien Birard, Idriss Dapsia and Pierre Defos du Rau found and photographed a Rusty Lark Calendulauda (Mirafra) rufa 8 km east of Mongo and 400 km east of N'Djamena. According to searchforlostbirds, this is the first record since 1931 (that time in Niger)! The identification was confirmed by Paul Donald and Per Alstrom, who also said that the photos were, as far as they knew, the first photos of this species taken in the wild. Very special!! See the photos on the homepage (until other photos are added) or via the Species option in the Resources menu.
Edited: 2026-02-03 [JBr]