Ashy-Crowned Sparrow-Lark

Description:

The name in some Hindi dialects for the bird is dabhak churi, which means crouching sparrow. Sparrow sized with a finch-like bill and short legs, these birds are usually seen sitting on the ground, and although they will sometimes perch on wires they do not perch in trees or bushes. The male is sandy brown overall with a black belly, chin, lower lores and eye stripe. The top of the head is ashy (although the base of these crown feathers are dark) unlike the dark brown to black in the Black-crowned Sparrow-Lark which partly overlaps with the range of this species in the arid zone of India and Pakistan. The female is pale brown and very similar to a female House Sparrow, although the legs are much shorter and appearing stockier and shorter-necked.[2][3] Although some subspecies ceylonensis (from Sri Lanka) and siccata (from Gujarat) have been named, variations are mostly clinal and they are treated as a monotypic species.

Habitat:

This species is restricted to below 1000 metres elevation and is found south of the Himalayas to Sri Lanka extending to the Indus river system in the west and to Assam in the east. It is found in stubble, scrub, waste land, riverside sand and tidal flats on the coast. The avoid the interior of the desert zone, a habitat that is more likely to be used by the Black-crowned Sparrow-Lark. The two species overlap partly in range, although they are rarely seen together in the same locations. During the monsoon season, they withdraw from heavy rainfall regions.

Notes:

The name in some Hindi dialects for the bird is dabhak churi, which means crouching sparrow. Seems like Angry Bird, : (