Sykes's lark (''Galerida deva'') is a species of

lark Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. Larks have a cosmopolitan distribution with the largest number of species occurring in Africa. Only a single species, the horned lark, occurs in North America, and only Horsfield's bush lark oc ...

found in the dry open country of India. Its distribution is mainly restricted to central India, although stray records have been found elsewhere on the sub-continent. It is identified by its prominent

crest Crest or CREST may refer to: Buildings * The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York *"The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York * Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Switze ...

and its overall rufous colouration. It has streaks on its breast which are less prominent than those found in the

Oriental skylark The Oriental skylark (''Alauda gulgula''), also known as the small skylark, is a species of skylark found in the southern, central and eastern Palearctic . Like other skylarks, it is found in open grassland where it feeds on seeds and insects. ...

. It can imitate the calls of 34 other birds within its habitat.

Taxonomy and systematics

Originally, Sykes's lark was classified as belonging to the genus ''

Alauda ''Alauda'' is a genus of larks found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species (the Raso lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands. Further, at least two additional species are ...

''. Alternate names for Sykes's skylark include Deccan crested lark, Deccan lark, Sykes's crested-lark, tawny crested lark and tawny lark.

References

Gallery

Image:Sykes's Lark (Galerida deva) in Hyderabad, AP W IMG 8063.jpg, In

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

, India Image:Sykes's Lark (Galerida deva) in Hyderabad, AP W IMG 8044.jpg, In Hyderabad, India Sykes's lark Birds of India Endemic birds of India Sykes's lark {{Alaudidae-stub