Crested Lark

The crested lark is a fairly small lark, about the size of a Eurasian skylark but shorter overall and bulkier around the head and body, 17 cm tall, with a wingspan of 29–38 cm and weighing 37–55 g. It is a small brown bird with a short tail with light brown outer feathers; the sexes look alike, young birds have more spots on the back, and in flight it shows reddish underwings. It breeds across most of temperate Eurasia from Portugal to north-eastern China and eastern India, and in Africa south to Niger (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is non-migratory, and its sedentary nature is shown by its being a very rare vagrant to Britain though it breeds in northern France. The song is liquid and warbling, described as whee-whee-wheeoo or twee-tee-too, and it nests in small ground depressions, often in wasteland and on the outskirts of towns. SoIB 2023 rates it a Moderate conservation priority, a resident of open habitat that eats plants and seeds, with a Large range of about 400,000 km², a decline of about 55% over the long term and an inconclusive current trend (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).