Hume's Short-toed Lark

Calandrella acutirostris Hume, 1873

≈15 cmLength20 gWeight

It is a small lark, duller than Greater Short-toed Lark, with rufous-brown cheeks and a white supercilium.

Busiest months: May and July · Most records: China, Bangladesh, India

Looks like Greater Short-toed Lark

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Rufous-brown cheeks and white supercilium
Dark markings on the neck; breast tinged buff-gray, without streaks
Brown crown with faint, indistinct streaks
Gray-brown or sandy-brown upperparts with dark streaks

Male, female and young

Sexes similar.

Voice

A sharp “trree”, and a rolling “drreep”.

Similar species

Greater Short-toed Lark

Hume's Short-toed Lark is similar in size and shape to Greater Short-toed Lark, but duller overall with a slightly smaller bill; regional variation makes plumage color unreliable, while calls help separate them.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: May and July · Most records: China, Bangladesh, India

Hume's Short-toed Lark has been recorded at 71 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 7 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Xiaobeihu Freshwater MarshChina73 records
Padma River & CharsBangladesh70 records
Takhta-Karacha mountain passUzbekistan44 records

More places

ChanduIndia25 records
Nalsarovar OutskirtsIndia20 records
Bakor Ali / BakharaliBangladesh16 records
Ganzihe Estuary WetlandsChina14 records
Qinghai Lake – Eastern EndChina12 records
HeimaheChina12 records
Chaka Salt LakeChina11 records

Countries and regions with the most records

China Bangladesh India Uzbekistan Nepal Pakistan Bhutan

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

Hume's short-toed lark (Calandrella acutirostris) is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is found in south-central Asia from Iran and Kazakhstan to China.

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

Questions

How big is the Hume's Short-toed Lark?

The Hume's Short-toed Lark is about ≈15 cm long and weighs around 20 g.

Where does the Hume's Short-toed Lark live?

Its breeding range: Palearctic: south-central. It is most often recorded in China, Bangladesh and India.

When is the best time to see the Hume's Short-toed Lark?

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

Is the Hume's Short-toed Lark endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Hume's Short-toed Lark as Least Concern.

What does the Hume's Short-toed Lark eat?

Main food: Omnivore.

What family is the Hume's Short-toed Lark in?

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

At a glance

Length: ≈15 cm
Weight: 20 g
Habitat: Grassland
Diet: Omnivore
Lifestyle: Active on the ground
Migration: Migratory
Conservation: Least Concern

More measurements

Wing: 89 mm
Tail: 64 mm
Bill: 13 mm
Tarsus: 19 mm

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

Range

Palearctic: south-central

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Subspecies · 2

Calandrella acutirostris acutirostris ne Iran and e Kazakhstan to w China | non-breeding: to sw Asia and India
Calandrella acutirostris tibetana ne Pakistan to Tibetan Plateau | non-breeding: s Asia