(Part of the) common name of the species of the family Alaudidae (Passeriformes, suborder Oscines) and in the plural the general term for the family. The name 'lark' without qualification is often used for the well-known Palaearctic species Alauda arvensis or Skylark. The larks are an anatomically well-defined group among the Oscines. On the whole they are coloured birds with both sexes more or less alike. Because of the cryptic colouration (colouration that provides concealment or disguise for protection against predators) and the lack of specific characters between lark-species, it is a difficult family for systematists and several different divisions into genera exist. It is at the same time a remarkable feature of the family; the highly developed colour adaptability of the plumage to the soil of their habitat, which is linked to their terrestrial lifestyle (they often walk or run, but never hop). A most characteristic feature of the family is their exquisite song, which is used for both courtship and territorial defence. Sometimes the song is delivered from a post, bush or stone, but it is done at its best when performed during flight. The family is a predominantly Old World one (only one New World representative, the Shore Lark Eremophila alpestris, also living in the Old World), distributed from high northern latitudes to southern Africa or Asia, and which contains both residents with nomadic habits and long-distance migrants. The size and the shape of the bill varies in this group according to feeding habits (e.g., proportionally huge and finch-like for crushing hard seeds or long and slender for digging). The diet consists of vegetable matter (seeds) and insect prey. Larks live in open country or thin bush, but not in forest(like) areas. During the non-breeding season they usually flock, which is preparatory for migration among the species living in the higher northern latitudes, but also many non-migratory species flock during that period. The name 'lark' is often misapplied to the Titlark (Britain) which is a pipit, the Meadowlark (America) which is an icterid, and the Magpie- or Mud-lark (Australia) which is a grallinid.

Alternative forms for larks : Alauda, Calandrella, Chersophilus, Eremophila, Galerida, lark, Lullula, Melanocorypha.