Desert Lark

The desert lark is a medium-sized, big-headed, long-billed lark 16–17 cm long, with rather dull plumage that varies from quite pale to rather dark, between subspecies and even within populations. It is like the bar-tailed lark but slightly larger, with a less domed head, a larger, broader bill, stouter legs and a longer tail. It breeds in deserts and semi-deserts from Morocco to western India (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is resident apart from local movements in arid stony areas, avoids flat sand and is always found in broken terrain with a vertical element. It is not very sociable and is met singly or in small groups. The song, a mournful choo-wee-chacha wooee, is uttered from the ground or a boulder or in undulating flight. It has a very wide distribution and no obvious threats, and surveys show it slowly increasing as it expands its range. SoIB 2023 lists it as a resident of grassland and an omnivore, without a priority category (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).