Humes short-toed lark

Appearance

Hume's short-toed lark is similar in size and appearance to the greater short-toed lark but is generally a duller-looking bird with slightly darker plumage and a slightly smaller beak. As with the greater short-toed lark, the colour varies across the broad range and is not a good distinguishing feature. Hume's short-toed lark grows to a length of from 13 to 14 cm and the sexes are similar. The crown is brown with slight diffuse streaking, the cheeks are rufous-brown and the supercilium white. The upper parts are greyish-brown or sandy brown with darker streaking, and the upper tail coverts are washed with rufous-brown. The wings are greyish-brown with black barring and pale tips to the feathers. The underparts are mostly whitish, but there is a dark neck patch and a buffish-grey breast band. The breast is unstreaked. The voice helps distinguish this species; vocalisations include a shrill "''trree''" and a more rolling "''drreep''".

Naming

Two subspecies are recognized:
⤷  ''C. a. acutirostris'' - Hume, 1873: Found from north-eastern Iran and eastern Kazakhstan to western China
⤷  Tibet short-toed lark - Brooks, WE, 1880: Originally described as a separate species. Found from north-eastern Pakistan to Tibetan Plateau