About Calandrella brachydactyla dukhunensis (Sykes, 1832)
While several subspecies of this lark have been named, there is considerable gene flow across them, and the species itself forms part of a larger species complex. This is a small pale lark, smaller than the skylark. It has dark-streaked greyish-brown plumage on its upperparts, and white plumage on its underparts. It has a strong pointed bill that is pinkish, with a grey culmen. It has a pale supercilium, dark patches on each side of its neck, and a dark tail. Some individuals in the western part of the species' range have a rufous crown. The sexes are similar in appearance. This species, the greater short-toed lark, is paler than the Mongolian short-toed lark, which also has a shorter bill. In winter, greater short-toed larks fly in large, compact flocks that move in synchrony. Care must be taken to distinguish this species from other similar larks, such as the Mediterranean short-toed lark. The nominate form breeds in Europe, specifically Iberia, France, Italy, the Balkans and Romania, and winters in Africa. Subspecies hungarica breeds in the eastern parts of Europe, while rubiginosa breeds in north-western Africa. Subspecies hermonensis, which sometimes includes the population woltersi, breeds in Turkey, Syria and Egypt. Subspecies artemisiana, considered by some to be synonymous with longipennis, breeds in Asia Minor and winters in southern west Asia. Subspecies longipennis breeds in Ukraine, Mongolia and Manchuria and winters in South Asia, mainly in the drier zone of north-western India. The species' song varies between a dry twittering and a more varied, imitative melody. Flocks will often fly together to water at favourite spots in the mornings. In the evenings, they roost on open ground, with each bird squatting in a small depression made in the soil. All but some of the southernmost populations are migratory, wintering as far south as the southern edge of the Sahara and India. This species is a fairly common wanderer to northern and western Europe during spring and autumn. Populations breeding in the Iberian Peninsula winter south of the Sahara in Africa. In this winter range, greater short-toed larks prefer crop land and dry pastures with short shrubs, while the syntopic Mediterranean short-toed larks (Calandrella rufescens) prefer drier areas. This is a common bird of dry open country and cultivation. It nests on the ground, laying two to three eggs. Its diet consists of seeds and insects; insects make up a particularly large part of its diet during the breeding season. In colonial India, greater short-toed larks were hunted for food as ortolans. They visit parts of South Asia in large flocks during winter, and are sometimes attracted to short grass areas along aerodromes, where they become a bird strike risk to aircraft.
