Sand Lark

The sand lark (Alaudala raytal) is a small passerine bird in the lark family, Alaudidae, found in southern Asia. It is somewhat similar to, but smaller than the short-toed larks. == Taxonomy and systematics == The sand lark was originally assigned to the genus Alauda. It was later placed in the genus Calandrella until it was moved back to Alaudala in 2014 although not all authorities have recognized this change yet. The alternate name Asian short-toed lark is usually used to refer to the species of the same name, Alaudala cheleensis. Other alternate names include Ganges sand lark, Indian sand lark and Indian short-toed lark. === Subspecies === Three subspecies are recognized: Indus sand lark (A. r. adamsi) - (Hume, 1871): Found in southeastern Iran, Pakistan, eastern Afghanistan and northwestern India A. r. raytal - (Blyth, 1845): Found from north-central India to southern Myanmar A. r. krishnakumarsinhji - (Vaurie & Dharmakumarsinhji, 1954): Found in west-central India == Description == The sand lark is about 12 or 13 cm (4.7 or 5.1 in) long. There is considerable geographic variation and three subspecies are recognized. All subspecies are dull brownish grey with faintly streaked upperparts and appears distinctly short-tailed with a fine…