| Rufous-winged Bush Lark | |
|---|---|
| At Joka in Kolkata. | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Alaudidae |
| Genus: | Mirafra |
| Species: | M. assamica |
| Binomial name | |
| Mirafra assamica Horsfield, 1840 |
|
The Rufous-winged Bush Lark (Mirafra assamica[2]) is a small passerine bird.
Contents |
It is short-tailed and has a strong stout bill. In size it is not as long as the Skylark, measuring about 15 centimeters. (See below for more.)
It is a resident breeder in the Indian subcontinent and southeast Asia, with an estimated global Extent of Occurrence of 100,000-1,000,000 square km.[1]
The Rufous-winged Bush Lark is a common bird of dry, open, stony country often with sparse shrubbery, and cultivated areas. It nests on the ground, laying three or four speckled eggs. This lark feeds primarily on seeds and insects, especially the latter during the breeding season.
The differences within the genus Mirafra are often very subtle and confusing with many differences apparent only when specimens are examined in hand.
The Rufous-winged Bushlark was earlier classified into several races, the Bengal race assamica and the Madras race affinis. These were subsequently split, on the basis of diagnostic song and display characters, into the Jerdon's Bushlark (Mirafra affinis) and assamica in the strict sense. Mirafra (assamica) assamica is dark-streaked grey above, and buff below, with spotting on the breast and behind the eye. The wings are rufous. Jerdon's Bushlark has paler, greyish-brown underparts. The song of Jerdon's Bushlark is a dry rattle given from its perch, while that of M. (a.) assamica is a repetition of thin disyllabic notes, delivered in a song-flight.[3]