Description:

A short-billed, small, heavily streaked lark with primaries extending beyond tertials on close wing. Bill is shorter and stouter. Has a broad gorget of well-defined streaking across breast, with streaking often apparent on lower throat and flanks, more finely streaked upperparts, less striking head pattern with less prominent supercilia.

Distribution:

Rare passage migrant through the central parts of Gilgit-Baltistan, mainly in Hunza, Ghizer and Gilgit. Found in open land with shrubs and grasses, and with high percentage of bare ground. Usually in level terrain, but also on slopes, up to 3000m.

Behavior:

Feeds on the ground, in small parties or larger flocks. Searches ground for food items. Feeds on invertebrates and seeds; fruits and bulbs also taken. Diet varies seasonally, mainly invertebrates in spring, mixed in summer, and predominantly seeds in winter. Mainly caterpillars in spring and grasshoppers in summer.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of Asian Short-toed Lark in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Asian Short-toed Lark

Resources:

Birds of Pakistan: Helm Field Guides (R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
The Birds of Pakistan (T. J. Roberts)
Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (C. Inskipp, R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide (P. Rasmussen & J. Anderton)
Birds of India: Collins Field Guide (N. Arlott)
Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan (S. Ali & S. D. Ripley)
Handbook of the Birds of the World (https://www.hbw.com)
The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 6th Edition
iNaturalist BoGB (inaturalist.org/projects/birds-of-gilgit-baltistan)
Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan (http://fb.me/birdsgb)

*Gallery images on this page are shared from flickr.com, and are copyrighted to their respective creators or owners.