Indian Bushlark    Mirafra erythroptera  

Etymology:

• Mirafra : Latin word mirus wonderful, and Afra from African;
• Erythroptera : Greek word eruthros red; –pteros –winged  { Red winged}

Vernacular Names : Hindi: Lal Pankh Aggin, Pun: Lalkhambha chandol, M.P: Jhirjhira, Guj: Agiya agan, Kathiawadi agiya agan, Agiyo chandul, Te: Chinna eeli jitta, Kan: Kempu rekke bharadwaja, Mar: Lal Pankhi Chandol

Distribution in India: Widespread resident in North, Central and West India

Description: Size of 12-14 cm. It is a heavy-bodied, large-billed lark with short wings, rather short tail, and moderate-length legs.  It has prominent whitish or pale buffish supercilium, and band of same colour on nape side/rear ear-covert. The crown, nape and upperparts are rufescent grey-brown, heavily streaked;. The upperwing-coverts and tertials are medium or dark grey-brown with buffish edges. It has distinctively rufous flight-feathers with dark tips; tail is mostly blackish, central feathers browner, outer edge of outermost pair buffish or buffish-white; whitish or pale buffish underside. The breast has large blackish-brown spots; iris is warm brown; bill mostly pinkish, grey culmen and legs are pink. The sexes are alike in plumage, female on average smaller.

Habitat:  It is found in arid, scrubby and often rocky areas in lowlands.

Food habits: It eats seeds and invertebrates.

Breeding habits: They breed in May–Jul in India. In common type of song flight, male rises some meters , and then descends with wings slightly raised, tail spread, and legs dangling. The nest is built mostly by female. The nest is a cup of grass, often domed, placed in depression on ground, frequently under a stone or bush. They lay a clutch of 3–4 eggs. The female incubates the eggs, assisted by male. The male assists in feeding of young.