
Photo: (c) Rejoice Gassah, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY
Alaudala raytal
Diet
Insects and seeds
Habitat
Sandy banks near water
Range
Southern Asia
Clutch size
Usually 3 greyish-white eggs speckled in brown
Size
12–13cm
The sand lark is a small lark of southern Asia, 12 or 13 cm long, somewhat like but smaller than the short-toed larks. All subspecies are dull brownish grey with faintly streaked upperparts and look distinctly short-tailed with a fine bill; bill length varies geographically, short and stubby in the west and long and fine-tipped in the east. The lores, eyebrow, area under the eye and entire underside are white (Wikipedia, general species account).
It is usually found singly, in pairs or in small loose groups, foraging in sudden zigzag spurts on sandy banks near water for insects and seeds. The breeding season is February to May, with usually three greyish-white eggs speckled brown. The song is varied, of rattling and tinkling notes high in the air followed by dry rattling and whistled notes while descending (Wikipedia, general species account).