Oriental Skylark

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Nominate subspecies
Photo by Rakesh
Ponda, Goa, India, May 2006

Alauda gulgula

Identification

Subspecies A. g. inconspicua
Photo by Alok Tewari
Gurgaon Rural, Haryana, India, July-2016

Size: 16 cm
Streaked, yellow-brown upper plumage, Buffy-white outer tail feathers and a short crest. Rufous tinge to primaries, but not as rufous as Mirafra. Small fine bill.
Sexes are similar.

Distribution

Western, Central, South-east Asia and China.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Nominate subspecies
Photo by portnoy58
Huay Mai Teng Reservoir, Ratchaburi, Thailand, April 2011

There are 8 subspecies^[1]:

• A. g. inconspicua:

• Transcaspia to Turkmenistan, eastern Iran, Afghanistan and north-western India

• A. g. lhamarum:

• Pamir Mountains and western Himalayas (Kashmir to northern Punjab)

• A. g. weigoldi:

• Eastern China (Shandong to southern Shaanxi and central Sichuan)

• A. g. inopinata:

• Tibetan plateau, eastern Qinghai, Gansu and south-western Inner Mongolia

• A. g. vernayi:

• Eastern Himalayas and adjacent China (ae Xizang and western Yunnan)

• A. g. gulgula:

• Eastern India to Sri Lanka and Indochina

• A. g. coelivox:

• South-eastern and southern China to northern Vietnam; Hainan Island

• A. g. wattersi:

• Taiwan and Philippine Islands

Habitat

Prefers open land and short grass, often near waterbodies.

Behaviour

Usually solitary or loose flocks. Runs short distances and crouches when disturbed.

Diet

Its diet includes seeds and insects.

Breeding

Nests on Ground.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Oriental Skylark. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 10 February 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Oriental_Skylark

External Links

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