Whilst birding some pivot irrigation
fields near Jebal Hamrah recently I came across very large numbers of Greater
Short-toed Larks, totalling several hundred birds. Some of the birds were quite
rufous in colour with others much paler and greyer suggesting two sub-species
may be present. The trouble with Greater Short-toed Larks is that the
geographical variation is clinal in nature becoming paler and greyer towards
the east and more rufous and streaked above to the west. The photos below show
the difference in colour between the most rufous bird and the other more
typical ones. There were probably a hundred Lesser Short-toed Larks in the
flock but I did not manage to photograph any.
