Turkestan Short-toed Lark
Alaudala heinei
A small pale lark with a short, finch-like bill. Usually seen foraging on the ground in open country with shrubs, grasses, and extensive bare soil, often in sandy areas. Stays low to the ground and runs quickly. The extremely variable song is made up of a long series of phrases containing a mix of many different types of notes, often including imitations of other bird species. Sings longer song phrases than Mediterranean Short-toed Lark, with longer pauses between them. Visually, can be difficult to separate from Greater Short-toed Lark; best features are the heavily streaked breast and flanks and the lack of a well-defined eyebrow. Also extremely similar to Mediterranean and Asian Short-toed Larks. Separation in overlap zones is difficult and poorly understood, and is complicated by both geographic and individual variation. Slightly smaller, darker brownish, and more streaked than Asian Short-toed Lark, with slightly less pointed wings and slightly less white on the outer tail feathers. Slightly less rufous overall than Mediterranean Short-toed Lark, with narrower streaks on the breast. Also similar to Sand Lark, but slightly larger and more streaked on the back, with a shorter and thicker bill.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Alaudala heinei
- Authority
- (Homeyer, 1873)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Alaudidae
- Genus
- Alaudala
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Smoky Bush-Tyrant
Myiotheretes fumigatus
Dark, medium-sized flycatcher of the Andes from Venezuela to Peru. Almost all chocolate-brown with slightly paler eyebrow and wingbars, and conspicuous cinnamon underwings in flight. Sexes similar. Compare with Streak-throated Bush-Tyrant, which has an orangish belly and streaked throat. Most often found singly in middle to upper levels of forest and edge from around 2,000–3,400 m. Sometimes perches conspicuously.
Moluccan Myzomela
Myzomela simplex
Small, entirely dark sooty-brown honeyeater. Very plain and lacking any colorful distinctive features. Found on the Indonesian island of Halmahera, as well as smaller adjacent islands. Uses forest and forest edge, in the lowlands and at moderate elevations. Similar to female Black Sunbird, but shows a more strongly downcurved bill, less contrast between the upperparts and underparts, and never shows the yellow tones on the belly usually shown by Black Sunbird.
Siberian Sand-Plover
Anarhynchus mongolus
Medium-sized plover with a pale throat, brown back, and white belly. Breeding adults have a black mask, white forehead, and a bright orange chest and neck; males average brighter than females. Non-breeding and immature birds are brownish above and white below, with a variable white forehead and eyebrow. Compare with slightly larger Greater Sand-Plover; Siberian is proportionally smaller-headed and darker-legged, and its shorter bill has a slight bulge at the tip. Smaller Kentish Plover can be similar in non-breeding plumage; Siberian is taller and longer-legged, without Kentish’s strong white neck band. Very difficult to distinguish from Tibetan Sand-Plover, especially nonbreeding and immature birds, though identification can often be presumed by range. In breeding plumage, note the less extensive black mask of Siberian, usually with a white spot on the forehead. In nonbreeding plumage, look for a generally stronger breast band and faint brown markings on the flanks in Siberian. In areas of overlap many birds best left unidentified. Breeds mainly in Russian Far East; winters on coastal mudflats and beaches from Taiwan to Australia.
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