Dupont's lark was originally described by Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1820 and placed in the genus Alauda.

[2][3] It was named for the French naturalist Léonard Puech Dupont, who had collected the species and showed it to Vieillot.

The north-western Dupont's lark of Europe and north-west Africa is mainly brown-grey above and pale below.

The south-eastern Dupont's lark, which occupies most of the rest of the African range, has rufous upperparts.

It is difficult to see while running among vegetation but it sometimes sings, standing upright on the edge of a low bush.