Greater Short-toed Lark (Calandrella brachydactyla)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Greater Short-toed Lark

Calandrella brachydactyla (Leisler, 1814)

≈15 cmLength21 gWeight

It is a pale small lark with a single dark patch on each side of the neck.

Busiest months: April · Most records: Spain, Portugal, India

Looks like Mongolian Short-toed Lark

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

  1. Gray-brown upperparts with dark streaks
  2. A single dark patch on each side of neck
  3. Pale supercilium
  4. Strong, sharp pink bill with a gray culmen

Male, female and young

Sexes similar.

Voice

Song varies from dry chirping to more varied melodies with mimicry.

Similar species

Mongolian Short-toed Lark
Mongolian Short-toed Lark

Greater Short-toed Lark is paler than Mongolian Short-toed Lark and has a longer bill.

Where and when it's recorded

Greater Short-toed Lark has been recorded at 512 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 73 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Lezíria Grande de Vila Franca de Xira – área geralPortugal986 records
  2. La Breña y Marismas de Barbate PNat – El CañilloSpain671 records
  3. El Estrecho PNat – Los LancesSpain630 records
More places
  1. Tal Chhapar SanctuaryIndia554 records
  2. Wamm FarmsUnited Arab Emirates471 records
  3. Mandria – CoastCyprus360 records
  4. International Birding and Research Center Eilat (IBRCE)Israel301 records
  5. Nalsarovar OutskirtsIndia294 records
  6. RivaTürkiye284 records
  7. Ria de Aveiro – Canal de Mira – troço Areão-VagueiraPortugal268 records

Countries and regions with the most records

SpainPortugalIndiaIsraelTürkiyeUnited Arab EmiratesMoroccoGreece

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The greater short-toed lark (Calandrella brachydactyla) is a small passerine bird. The current scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus name, Calandrella, is a diminutive of kalandros, the calandra lark, and brachydactila is from brakhus, "short", and daktulos, "toe".

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Greater Short-toed Lark?

The Greater Short-toed Lark is about ≈15 cm long and weighs around 21 g.

Where does the Greater Short-toed Lark live?

Its breeding range: Palearctic: central, southern. It is most often recorded in Spain, Portugal and India.

When is the best time to see the Greater Short-toed Lark?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in April (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Greater Short-toed Lark endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Greater Short-toed Lark as Least Concern.

What does the Greater Short-toed Lark eat?

Main food: Omnivore.

What family is the Greater Short-toed Lark in?

It belongs to the family Larks (Alaudidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).

At a glance

Length
≈15 cm
Weight
21 g
Habitat
Grassland
Diet
Omnivore
Lifestyle
Active on the ground
Migration
Partial migrant
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
94 mm
Tail
60 mm
Bill
13 mm
Tarsus
20 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Palearctic: central, southern

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Subspecies · 1
  • Calandrella brachydactyla orientalis c Siberia, n Mongolia and n China | non-breeding: to s Asia

Classification

Order
Passerines Passeriformes
Family
Larks Alaudidae
Genus
Calandrella

Other birds in the genus Calandrella

Hume's Short-toed LarkHume's Short-toed LarkCalandrella acutirostrisMongolian Short-toed LarkMongolian Short-toed LarkCalandrella dukhunensisBlanford's LarkBlanford's LarkCalandrella blanfordiRufous-capped LarkRufous-capped LarkCalandrella eremicaRed-capped LarkRed-capped LarkCalandrella cinereaGreater Hoopoe-LarkGreater Hoopoe-LarkAlaemon alaudipesLesser Hoopoe-LarkLesser Hoopoe-LarkAlaemon hamertoniBeesley's LarkBeesley's LarkChersomanes beesleyiSpike-heeled LarkSpike-heeled LarkChersomanes albofasciataGray's LarkGray's LarkAmmomanopsis grayi
Greater Short-toed Lark

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Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by rvorob1899. ↗

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