Indian bush lark
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Family
Genus
SPECIES
Mirafra erythroptera

The Indian bush lark (Mirafra erythroptera ) is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found in South Asia.

Appearance

It is distinguished from Jerdon's bush lark by its shorter bill and legs and longer tail.

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The plumage of the Indian bush lark is pale and it has a cheek patch completely bounded by a white supercilium and post-auricular border. The crown and upper-parts are heavily streaked. The pale underparts have large spots on the breast. Most of its wing coverts, tertials and central tail feathers have pale centres. The primary coverts look all brown. The rufous wing bars are diagnostic but care must be taken not to confuse the bird with Jerdon's bush lark in the central Western Ghats and country around where their ranges overlap. Jerdon's bush lark is darker with more rufous on the wings.

It sings from bush tops but does not usually perch on trees or wires. The calls are similar to that of Jerdon's bush lark but are lower and have longer rattling tremolos often falling in pitch.

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Distribution

Geography

Continents
Countries
Biogeographical realms

The Indian bush lark is most commonly found in arid areas. It is found in Pakistan and north-western, central and south-central India.

Indian bush lark habitat map
Indian bush lark habitat map
Indian bush lark
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Habits and Lifestyle

The song-flight during the mating season is an amazing spectacle. The bird flutters high over the ground, then holds its wings in an open "V" and "parachutes" down to its perch uttering its song consisting of short tweets and cheeps in three syllables followed by a longer fourth syllable. This combination is repeated till the bird perches again.

Lifestyle
Seasonal behavior
Bird's call

Diet and Nutrition

Population

References

1. Indian bush lark Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_bush_lark
2. Indian bush lark on The IUCN Red List site - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22717092/118711103
3. Xeno-canto bird call - https://xeno-canto.org/663621

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