Crested Lark

The Crested Lark is a robust, sandy-colored lark readily identified by its tall, pointed crest, which is often held erect and visible even from a distance. Its plumage is warm buffy-brown above with streaking, and paler, lightly streaked underparts, giving it a fairly plain but distinctive overall look.

Compared to other larks, it has a relatively long, slightly decurved bill, useful for its varied diet of seeds and insects. The wings show a warm, rufous-orange tone in flight, particularly visible on the underwing and outer tail.

Sexes are alike in plumage, and the species shows a good deal of geographic variation in overall color tone across its wide range, from pale sandy birds in arid regions to darker, more richly colored birds elsewhere.

Key field marks

• Tall, narrow, upright crest, often the most obvious feature
• Sandy to grayish-brown streaked upperparts
• Long, slightly downcurved bill
• Warm rufous tones visible in the wings and outer tail in flight
• Confiding behavior, often close to roads, parking areas, and open ground near towns

Similar species

• Woodlark: much smaller, shorter-tailed, with a strong pale supercilium pattern and a shorter, less pointed crest.
• Eurasian Skylark: larger, longer-tailed, has a white wing trailing edge and white outer tail feathers, and a smaller, less obvious crest.
• Thekla Lark: very similar in appearance where ranges overlap in Iberia; Thekla Lark has a shorter bill, more spotted (versus streaked) breast markings, and grayer overall tone, with habitat generally more rocky/hilly than the Crested Lark's flat open ground.

Habitat

Crested Larks favor open, often disturbed or barren ground, including wasteland, quarries, fallow fields, roadsides, airfields, and the edges of towns and villages, tolerating a good deal of human disturbance.

Range

The species has an extensive range across Europe, North Africa, and much of temperate Asia, from Iberia and France eastward through the Middle East to China, though it has declined or disappeared from parts of northwestern Europe in recent decades.

Migration

Most populations are non-migratory residents, staying in the same general area year-round.

Behavior

Crested Larks are usually seen alone or in pairs, walking steadily across bare ground while foraging, and are often notably tame around people, frequently found on roadsides, in parking lots, and around farm buildings.

Voice

The song is a fairly simple, melodious series of clear, fluty notes, often given from the ground, a low perch, or during a brief song flight. The common call is a distinctive, plaintive "dree-dree-oo" or similar rising whistle.

Feeding

They feed on seeds and insects gleaned from the ground, using the longer bill to probe soil and low vegetation more than many other larks.

Nesting and breeding

The nest is a simple ground scrape lined with fine grasses, typically placed in a slight depression in open, bare terrain. Clutches usually number 3-5 eggs, and the species may raise more than one brood in a season across its long breeding period.