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Aves · Little Rann of Kutch · 17 Jan 2015

For Lady Lark

Ashy-crowned Sparrow-Lark  ·  Female  ·  Eremopterix griseus
A female Ashy-crowned Sparrow-Lark, sandy-brown and softly streaked, pale below, crouched low on bare pale earth in the Little Rann of Kutch, almost the colour of the ground.
Ashy-crowned Sparrow-Lark — Little Rann of Kutch

Compared to its male counterpart, a female Ashy-crowned Sparrow-Lark is practically built to disappear. Sandy and softly streaked, pale below, almost the exact colour of the ground beneath her. The heavy bill is the clue that this plain little bird is a lark, not the sparrow its name suggests.

Sparrow by name, lark by family.

Like all larks she nests on open ground, and feeds as he does, working the bare earth for seeds and small insects in short, low runs. A sitting bird survives by going unseen. Her look serves as a near perfect camouflage in that hard terrain.

I could have missed her entirely, had she not moved, ever so slightly.

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Capture details

Camera
Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Lens
EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
Aperture
f/5.6
Shutter
1/6000 s
ISO
800
Focal length
400mm
Date
17 Jan 2015
Location
Little Rann of Kutch
Ashy-crowned Sparrow-Lark Sparrow-Lark