ALL the LARKS in India…Finally!
Being an early to bed and early to rise kind of person, I was once called a “lark” by my English teacher at school. I had no idea what it meant for another almost next 40 years! Then birding started, and with it started some mad missions! I started this project on a “lark” (which is an idiom meaning “something that is done on spur of the moment, something that is done spontaneously and for fun”!) - but it was QUITE a task by the end of it! The ones in Gurgaon came in easy in the initial years, more by default and bit of luck. There were some other ones that came as “collateral” benefit to places I visited. Like the Sand Lark or the Desert Lark as well as the Tibetan Lark. The challenge started in the last year, 2024, when I had to find the missing ones!
Bengal Bush Lark was usually found nearby Gurgaon but the habitat loss here has likely led to its disappearance. I was in my planning phase for this one when I serendipitously bumped into it in an unknown wildlife sanctuary in Assam! Malabar and Jerdon’s I knew had to be found in Karnataka. So, when my friends were gulping down beer in-between the tiger safaris at Kabini, I went looking for the Malabar Lark! Jerdon’s Lark was then left for nearby Mangalore grassland where early in the morning it sang beautifully on a tree perch for me! Back to my hometown in Gurgaon, I realized that I was still missing the relatively common Indian Bush Lark. Went searching for it in Jhanjrola in the outskirts of Gurgaon. After a couple of hours of frustrating search in the fast-depleting habitat there, we saw one hidden in a small bush. Only one single lark! After a bit of run around, it gave a decent pose for me.
I had planned a visit to Ladakh but was not sure of finding the Hume’s Short-toed Lark there, and hence had kept some other “back-up” locations in mind! However, fate was kind and on a beautiful sunny evening by the side of the stunningly beautiful Pangong Tso, we found our target! Having missed the Greater Hoopoe in Jaisalmer, I had to visit GRK again to find it. While it is not found in the usual spots now because of construction activity but like in most places and for which I am most grateful, my able guide here too led me to the right spot. Near to it was the Mongolian Short-toed lark too which took us some time to ensure its identity – you don’t want to travel all the way and then get photograph of a wrong species!
The last one was planned for a long time, and the visit cancelled a couple of times due to the floods or something else, but finally the day came. The Tawny Lark, endemic species at Nalsarovar, blessed me with its presence to finally complete another mission! Larks and their beautiful morning songs are known to symbolize the renewal and dawn of a new day, and for me it was the dawn of a new year, 2025!
