Birds and Birding's Guide to:
Watching THE SPARROW-LIKE BIRDS
THE SONG BIRDS
THE LARKS
The Short-toed Larks
(Calandrella), so called from the fact that the hind toe with its claw is very short, are inhabitants of sandy and barren open places, and have much the appearance and habits of the Horned Larks. They are, however, of small size and have a short, deep bill and long wings in which there are but nine obvious primaries, while the tertiaries are greatly lengthened. The common species (C brachydactyla) is a well-known bird in central and southern Europe, and it also occurs in North Africa and in Asia as far east as Lake Baikal, many passing the winter in India. It is a tame and confiding bird, affecting sandy plains in summer, but in winter it congregates in large flocks and ranges far and wide. Its food consists largely of seeds. Its song, Mr. Dresser says,”is short and not of a high quality, and is uttered either when the bird is on the wing or when perched on a clod or stone.”The coloration of the Short-toed Lark is sandy brown streaked with blackish brown above and white beneath, the breast washed with buff and bordered by two patches of blackish brown ; the quills are blackish brown, the outer web of the first one edged with creamy white, and the tail is similar to the wings, but has the outer feathers tipped and margined with buffy or white.
Other Species of Larks
There are other members of the family, such as the Finch Larks (Ammomanes), so named from the thick, Finch-like bill, the Bush Larks (Mirafra), which frequent well-wooded districts and commonly perch on bushes and low trees, and the Sand Larks (Alaudula), which make their home especially along the sandy banks of rivers, but as they do not greatly differ, either in plumage or habits, from those already described, we may close our account of the group.
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