The Burmese bush lark or Burmese lark, is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found in Southeast Asia.
Region
Southeast Asia
Typical Environment
Endemic to central Myanmar, especially the dry zone with open scrub, fallow fields, and lightly grazed grasslands. It favors sparsely vegetated plains, stony ground, and roadsides with scattered bushes. The species often occupies agricultural mosaics, including millet and pulse fields, where bare patches remain. It uses low perches for singing but spends most time foraging on the ground under cover.
Altitude Range
0–800 m
Climate Zone
Arid
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The Burmese bush lark is a ground-dwelling lark of Myanmar’s central dry zone, often seen perched on low shrubs or fence posts to deliver its song. It performs brief song-flights with fluttering, shallow wingbeats before dropping back to the ground. Formerly treated within the Bengal bush lark complex, it is now recognized as a distinct species. Its tolerance of scrubby farmland helps it persist in human-modified landscapes.
Temperament
secretive but vocal
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with brief, fluttering song-flights
Social Behavior
Usually found singly or in pairs, sometimes in small loose groups after breeding. Nests on the ground in a grass-lined cup hidden under tussocks or low shrubs. Likely socially monogamous, with both adults involved in territory defense near the nest.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A lively, tinkling series of trills and chirps delivered from a low perch or during a brief aerial display. Calls include soft tchit and metallic notes, repeated in short bursts.
Plumage
Warm rufous-brown upperparts heavily streaked with darker brown; paler, buffy underparts with fine breast streaking. Shows a distinct pale supercilium and rufous wing panel visible in flight. Tail is brown with slightly darker centers and paler edges.
Diet
Eats small invertebrates such as ants, beetles, termites, and grasshoppers, supplemented by grass seeds and small weed seeds. Forages by walking and picking prey from the ground or low vegetation. Opportunistically takes items flushed by grazing livestock or wind-disturbed grass.
Preferred Environment
Feeds in open scrub, field margins, fallow plots, and sparsely vegetated grasslands with patches of bare soil. Often forages along tracks and at the edges of croplands.
