Melanocorypha mongolica

Mongolian Sky Lark, a small songbird with no subspecies.

Mongolian Sky Lark often moves alone or in pairs during the breeding season, but likes to gather in groups during the non-breeding season, especially during migration, often gathering in large groups, sometimes with hundreds or even thousands of individuals in the group. Good at running. It runs fast on the ground. It is also good at flying, and can soar straight up from the ground and fly high into the sky. It sings while flying in the air, which is very similar to the skylark. The singing voice is crisp and melodious, a kind of pleasant trill. It has strong legs and is good at running. When disturbed, it often hides and does not move, and it is not easy to be found because of its protective color. It often gathers in large groups in autumn and winter. It often walks on the ground or flaps its wings to make soft waves. It sings on the ground, when flying, or when it slowly descends vertically while flapping its wings in the air. It soars straight into the clouds when flying high, and is also good at running on the ground. When disturbed, it often hides and does not move, and it is not easy to be found because of its protective color. It often stands on high earth mounds or sand dunes and sings endlessly, and its singing voice is sharp and beautiful. The singing voice is loud, melodious and beautiful, and it is a traditional precious cage bird in China.

Mongolian larks mainly feed on grass seeds and young shoots, and also prey on a small number of insects, such as grasshoppers and locusts.

Mongolian larks hibernate in groups. In the early stage of hibernation, they often form mixed groups with small sand larks. At night, they roost in dry, fine sandy wasteland or farmland with a certain slope. During the entire hibernation period, they roost in the same night roosting area with small sand larks. During the hibernation period, their food is almost entirely seeds of grass plants.

The breeding season of Mongolian larks is from May to July. When the male birds are courting, they sing in the air or flap their wings in the sky. The nest is built on the ground at the root of the earth ridge or grass. The nest is shallow cup-shaped and made of weeds. It is placed in a slightly concave place on the ground or between the grass, and covered with hanging grass. The egg is white or nearly yellow, with a smooth surface and fine brown spots. The size is about 23×18 mm. The two sexes take turns to incubate for 11-12 days and the chicks hatch. The newly hatched chicks are naked, with only down feathers on some parts, and they open their eyes after 7 days. During this period, they are fed by both parents, mainly insect larvae. The young birds leave the nest after 8 days and fly after 14 or 15 days.

Mongolian lark is a summer migratory bird or resident bird. It is only distributed in Inner Mongolia, Qinghai and parts of Northeast China in China, and the population was once relatively abundant. However, due to its pleasant singing voice, it is a famous caged bird. Many bird dealers often go to the production areas to buy them in large quantities during the breeding season, which has caused great damage to the resources. In addition, due to the increase in population, grassland development and overgrazing, the environmental quality has declined, which has affected the growth of the Mongolian lark population. In the western part of Northeast China, the population is also very scarce and should be protected.

Listed in the "Red List of Endangered Species of the World Conservation Union" (IUCN) 2016 ver 3.1-Least Concern (LC).

Listed in the "China Biodiversity Red List-Vertebrate Volume" (Birds)-Vulnerable (VU).

Listed in China's "National Key Protected Wildlife List" (February 5, 2021) Level 2.

Protect wildlife and eliminate game.

Maintaining ecological balance is everyone's responsibility!

Distributed in Mongolia, southern Russia and adjacent areas in northeastern China.
China is a common resident bird in Inner Mongolia and its surrounding areas. Mainly distributed provinces: Beijing, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Henan, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia. Distributed in the following protected areas: Momong, Baijitan, Qinghai Lake Bird Island, Luya Mountain, Hengshui Lake Wetland and Birds, Saihan Ula. Distributed in the following mountain lakes: Qinghai Lake.
Inhabits open areas such as grasslands and semi-deserts, especially wet grassland areas with dense herbaceous plants. Often in and out of the grasslands along the banks of rivers and lakes, and also in and out of the grasslands or saline-alkali grasslands near waters, and sometimes in winter, they also go to roads or near human settlements. Don't like arid desert plains.

The plumage of male and female Mongolian larks is roughly the same. In winter, the center of the male's head is brownish yellow, and the surrounding area is chestnut red, forming a chestnut red top circle around the top of the head. The front end of the chestnut red extends to the forehead and extends to the back of the neck, making the chestnut red top circle thicker in front and back; the eyebrow pattern around the eyes and eyebrows is brownish white, and the eyebrows on both sides extend backward to the occipital area; the cheeks and ears are brownish yellow or brownish red. The back and waist are chestnut brown with brownish yellow or brownish gray feather edges. The small and middle coverts on the wings are chestnut red, and the feather tips are brownish yellow. The large coverts are also chestnut red, turning black-brown in the middle; the primary coverts are black-brown, with brown feather edges and white wing edges. The first degenerate primary flight feather is also white