What do we already know about their wintering ranges?

Greater Short-toed Lark (Calandrella brachydactyla) is the main wintering short-toed Lark in northern and northwestern India and Mongolian Short-toed Lark (C. dukhunensis) is the main wintering Short-toed Lark in the southern and eastern states (from specimen records). Most call recordings obtained in India so far also corroborate this. But what is the status of both species in central India?

How can we separate Greater and Mongolian Short-toed Lark?

Both were considered the same species until very recently. Both look very similar and both are winter visitors to India so how can we tell them apart? A recent publication https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-020-01819-z found that Greater Short-toed Lark (C. b. longipennis) in northwestern India is almost impossible to separate from Mongolian Short-toed Lark from photos. But luckily, they can be told apart by calls. So the best way to separate them is by recording and analyzing their vocalizations. If we, as a community, get as many recordings of the species as possible, we can resolve their poorly understood wintering ranges!

Gaps in knowledge

Parts of central India like southern Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, North Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, western Odisha, Bihar and Jharkhand may fall within range for both species, or either one, but are likely to be at the 'junction' of both species' ranges. In Maharashtra, for example, the assumption is that its Mongolian but both may occur regularly in different parts. In Gujarat, its the opposite. We need to get as many recordings as possible to solve this mystery. Until then, one or both of the species may be treated as 'rare' in each of these states to encourage recordings and documentation. However, usage of Greater/Mongolian Short-toed Lark is welcome when in doubt.

We invite comments to discuss the status of the species in the region so that we can arrive at possible alternatives to treat these records, that way our collective knowledge of its distribution can improve. Any comments on changes in time, whether it is widespread, only locally present, or completely absent are welcome, as is evidence in the form of audio, photographs, literature, etc. which you may link to.

Thank you for participating.

Abhijeet Rasal
(On behalf of the Maharashtra eBird editorial team)