Raso lark
The Raso lark (Alauda razae) is a small passerine bird with a highly restricted range, being found only on Raso islet in the Cape Verde Islands. This critically endangered member of the Alaudidae lives in highly arid terrain, and is considered one of the least known birds in the Western Palaearctic region, due to its remoteness and the lack of much ornithological study on the archipelago as a whole.
Description
The Raso lark is restricted to one small island in the Cape Verde group, although historically it is believed to have ranged over two other islands, Branco and São Vicente Island; all three of these islands were joined in the last Ice Age. Branco island itself has no permanent water and has never been inhabited by people, a fact that has probably saved the lark from extinction until now.
The Raso lark feeds by digging in the ground for insect larvae, and bulbs of the nutsedge. Both sexes also feed on grass seeds, and insects such as butterflies, moths and grasshoppers. It has an enlarged bill, but it is not used for foraging, but for dominance displays among males. The female lays one to three eggs after the rains. Courtship behaviour is like that of the skylark. The incubation time is thought to be 15 days.
Lark
Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. All species occur in the Old World, and in northern and eastern Australia. Only one, the horned lark, is also found in North America. Habitats vary widely, but many species live in dry regions.
Description
Larks, which are part of the family Alaudidae, are small- to medium-sized birds, 12 to 24 cm (4.7 to 9.4 in) in length and 15 to 75 g (0.5 to 2.6 oz) in mass.
They have more elaborate calls than most birds, and often extravagant songs given in display flight. These melodious sounds (to human ears), combined with a willingness to expand into anthropogenic habitats — as long as these are not too intensively managed — have ensured larks a prominent place in literature and music, especially the Eurasian skylark in northern Europe and the crested lark and calandra lark in southern Europe.
With these song flights, males defend their breeding territories and attract mates. Most species build nests on the ground, usually cups of dead grass, but in some species the nests are more complicated and partly domed. A few desert species nest very low in bushes, perhaps so circulating air can cool the nest. Larks' eggs are usually speckled, and clutch sizes range from two (especially in species of the driest deserts) to six (in species of temperate regions). Larks incubate for 11 to 16 days.
Lark (band)
Lark is a four-piece electronica band from South Africa, based in Cape Town; they have been one of the key contributors to the rising Experimental and IDM crossover scene and created a solid grassroots following in South Africa, England and Germany through their EP Mouth of Me. They soon gained mainstream notoriety with their debut album Razbliuto in 2006.
History
2003-05: Formation, Mouth of Me EP and touring
Lark started as Inge Beckmann's solo project produced by, her close friend, Paul Ressel. During the initial recording sessions at Sound & Motion Studios they worked with, sound engineer and session bassist, Simon "Fuzzy" Ratcliffe - who shortly joined the project. These recordings turned into the band's debut EP Mouth of Me, followed by an extensive tour around South Africa.
During their successful tour, they recruited popular session drummer, Sean Ou Tim and entered Sound & Motion Studios in Cape Town to create their first full-length version of Razbliuto. The final line-up consisted of Beckmann on vocals, Ressel on electronics (sequencers, analog systems and laptop) and Ratcliffe on bass (upright, electric) and woodwinds; and Tim on drums.
Lark (cigarette)
Lark is a brand of cigarettes introduced in 1963 by Liggett & Myers and notable for its charcoal filter and past advertising campaigns, among which was one featuring people on the street being asked to "Show us your Lark pack".
Brand history and ownership
In 1963 Liggett & Myers introduced the Lark brand with its trademark charcoal filter in an effort to halt a five-year downward drift in sales. The distinguishing feature of the brand, both in terms of physical characteristics and taste was the 3-piece "Keith" filter (named for Dr. Charles H. Keith, "Supervisor of Physical Chemistry" for Liggett & Myers, who developed it)- the middle section of which contains small charcoal granules, which purportedly reduces the harshness of the cigarette's smoke.
Liggett & Myers underwent several corporate name changes over the ensuing years but kept the Lark brand in their product mix until 1998, when Liggett Vector Brands Inc. sold Lark, along with the L&M & Chesterfield brands, for $300 million to Philip Morris Companies Inc., later known as the Altria Group. (The sale involved only domestic rights; Philip Morris already owned the international rights to the three brands, which it had purchased in the late 1970s.) As of 2008, Lark continues to be manufactured and sold by Philip Morris USA, a subsidiary of Altria Group.
Ilhéu Raso
Raso is an uninhabited 7 km2 volcanic island in the Barlavento archipelago of Cape Verde. Razo is an old name for the island. It is flanked by the smaller Branco islet to the west and by São Nicolau island on its eastern side.
Environment
The island is a stratovolcano some 3 km long by 2.4 km wide, reaching a height of 164 m above sea level. It is approximately 123 million years old and was formed from even older oceanic crust. The south-western part is a dry, boulder-strewn plain. There is little vegetation apart from an area of grassland in the south-west. The entire coastline consists of rocky cliffs. Along with nearby Santa Luzia and Ilhéu Branco, it was declared a protected area in 1990.
Fauna
Raso is now the only home of the critically endangered Raso lark. The island has been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because, as well as the larks, it supports populations of Cape Verde shearwaters (with an estimated 2500–3750 breeding pairs), red-billed tropicbirds (25–40 pairs) and Iago sparrows. It is one of only two islands where the possibly extinct Cape Verde giant skink has been recorded. The Cape Verde giant gecko (Tarentola gigas) and a skink (Mabuya stangeri) still occur.
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