| Indian bush lark | |
|---|---|
 | |
| At Fulzar Dam | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Alaudidae |
| Genus: | Mirafra |
| Species: | M. erythroptera |
| Binomial name | |
| Mirafra erythroptera Blyth, 1845 | |
 | |
The Indian bush lark (Mirafra erythroptera) is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found in South Asia.
The alternate names "red-winged lark" and "red-winged bush lark" are more commonly used to describe the red-winged lark (M. hypermetra). [2] Other alternate names of the Indian bush lark are Indian lark, Indian red-winged lark, red-winged singing bushlark and rusty-winged lark.
It is distinguished from Jerdon's bush lark by its shorter bill and legs and longer tail.
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. [3]
The Indian bush lark is most commonly found in arid areas. It is found in Pakistan and north-western, central and south-central India.
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.
The rufous-tailed scrub robin is a medium-sized member of the family Muscicapidae. Other common names include the rufous scrub robin, rufous bush chat, rufous bush robin and the rufous warbler. It breeds around the Mediterranean and east to Pakistan. It also breeds south of the Sahara from the Sahel region east to Somalia; these African birds are sometimes considered to be a separate species, the African scrub robin. It is partially migratory, wintering in Africa and India. This is a very rare visitor to northern Europe.
The Bengal bush lark or Bengal lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found in southern Asia.
Jerdon's bush lark or Jerdon's lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found in south Asia. This was formerly considered as a subspecies of Mirafra assamica and termed as the Madras bushlark. Two other species in the complex include Mirafra marionae and Mirafra microptera. Jerdon's bush lark is typically very pale on the underside
The rufous-tailed lark, also sometimes called the rufous-tailed finch-lark, is a ground bird found in the drier open stony habitats of India and parts of Pakistan. Like other species in the genus it has a large finch-like bill with a slightly curved edge to the upper mandible. The dull brown colour matches the soil as it forages for grass seeds, grain and insects. Males and females are indistinguishable in the field but during the breeding season, the male has a courtship display that involves flying up steeply and then nose-diving and pulling up in a series of stepped wavy dips accompanied by calling. They forage on the ground in pairs or small groups.
The singing bush lark or Horsfield's bush lark is a species of lark which inhabits grassland throughout most of Australia and much of Southeast Asia. It was described by the American naturalist Thomas Horsfield.
The melodious lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found in southern Africa. It is currently threatened by habitat loss.
Kordofan lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found in Africa.
The Degodi lark is a lark in the family Alaudidae endemic to Ethiopia. It is now considered a subspecies of Gillett's lark.
The Indochinese bush lark or Indochinese lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found in southeast Asia.
The Madagascar lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae endemic to Madagascar.
The red-winged lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found in eastern Africa.
The monotonous lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found in southern Africa.
Friedmann's lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found in East Africa.
The Somali lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae endemic to Somalia.
Williams's lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. Discovered in 1955, much of its life and ecology is still a mystery to ornithology.
The rufous-rumped lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is found in western and central Africa from Mali, Guinea and Sierra Leone to eastern Sudan, South Sudan and north-western Uganda. Its natural habitat is dry savannah.
The rufous-naped lark or rufous-naped bush lark is a widespread and conspicuous species of lark in the lightly wooded grasslands, open savannas and farmlands of the Afrotropics. Males attract attention to themselves by a bold and often repeated wing-fluttering display from a prominent perch, which is accompanied by a melodious and far-carrying whistled phrase. This rudimentary display has been proposed as the precursor to the wing-clapping displays of other bush lark species. They have consistently rufous outer wings and a short erectile crest, but the remaining plumage hues and markings are individually and geographically variable. It has a straight lower, and longish, curved upper mandible.
The white-tailed lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found in Africa.
The foxy lark or Abyssinian lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is found in east-central Africa.
Ash's lark or Ash's bushlark, is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae endemic to Somalia.
