24

Horsfield's Bushlark (Mirafra javanica) Alternate name(s): "Singing Bushlark", "Australasian Bushlark", "Cinnamon Bushlark", "Australian Skylark", "Croplark" Aboriginal name(s): "tirtiyn tjaRuk"/"turti tjaRuk" [tjapwurrung, eastern djadjawurrung] Size: 12-15 cm Body mass: 18-25 g

Australia: Family Group 24 Family Group 24 Table Horsfield's Bushlark Australian Pipit Eastern Yellow Wagtail Citrine Wagtail Grey Wagtail White Wagtail Zebra Finch Double-barred Finch Long-tailed Finch Black-throated Finch Masked Finch Crimson Finch Plum-headed Finch Pictorella Mannikin Chestnut-breasted Mannikin Yellow-rumped Mannikin Blue-faced Parrot-Finch Diamond Firetail Beautiful Firetail Red-eared Firetail Painted Finch Star Finch Red-browed Finch Gouldian Finch Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names Habitat pages Key plants Birds Australi home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Horsfield's Bushlarks are small Australian grassland larks. Their highly cryptic plumage has colour variations across different races. Red morphology birds have a reddish tinge throughout; dark morphology birds have predominantly brown colours. The crown is heavily striated a dark shade of brown. The ear coverts are also quite dark-brown, while the eyebrows and arcs encircling the end of the ear coverts are much lighter. The front is whitish to chestnut, with darker streaking on the breast. The back, including the upperwings, is heavily scalloped, mostly very dark-brown, with lighter (brown to greyish-brown) edges to the feathers. The wings have chestnut panels that pale to buff when worn. The uppertail is dark (or reddish) brown, with lighter outer edges. The undertail is grey. The eyes have dark irises. The short, stout bill is almost triangular in shape, similar to the bills of finches, with a dark-grey upper mandible and a horn-coloured lower mandible. The legs and feet are pink to pinkish-grey. Juvenile Horsfield's Bushlarks are paler overall, with broader chestnut to brown edges to the feathers, giving them a more pronounced scalloped pattern compared to adults. Twitcher's tip Compared with other Australian larks, Horsfield's Bushlarks are smaller and have a much shorter, stouter bill that closely resembles those of finches.

Taxonomy, classification See Horsfield's Bushlark at Wikipedia . Click here for classification information Compared with other Australian larks, Horsfield's Bushlarks are smaller and have a much shorter, stouter bill that closely resembles bills of finches. This is the reason why they appear here, in family group 24, rather than with the Australian larks, which are more closely related to the "old world warblers" (e.g. the Reed-Warblers of the genus Acrocephalus).

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Singing Bushlark is available HERE . The range of the Singing Bushlark encompasses parts of Thailand and Laos, the northern Philippines, parts of eastern Indonesia, Timor Leste, parts of New Guinea and Australia. In total there are eight races of Horsfield's Bushlarks in Australia; for details of their distribution see a field guide. Altogether they populate large parts of the North-West and the eastern half of Australia. They are found from Eyre peninsula in SA, via the Adelaide area and along the South coast, basically all through VIC, NSW and QLD, except the area of Coopracambra NP on the NSW/VIC border, parts of the Great Dividing Range between the Manning River in NSW and Charters Towers, QLD and Cape York peninsula. From western QLD their range extends into the eastern margin of the NT and along the Top End of the NT via the Kimberley to the Gascoyne in WA, up to about Carnarvon, WA. Nominate race "horsfieldii" resides in an area from Adelaide, SA, to the East, including most of VIC and NSW, southern central QLD and most of the (near-)coastal strip along the QLD East coast (except the tablelands around Cairns), to the base of Cape York peninsula. Race "soderbergi" populates the Top End of the NT (with the exception of Melville Island). Horsfield's Bushlarks live in open grassland and along dirt/gravel roadsides, but also in or around crops on farms. Where to look? How to find this species? If you find yourselve in open grassland and get the impression that there is a whole host of small birds singing overhead (while most of the time you cannot find even one), it is very likely that you have found a male Horsfield's Bushlark marking its territory in a display flight. In such a case, look for a single small bird with a dark jizz, ca. 30-50 m high, that moves along slowly with fluttering wings. At other times, male Horsfield's Bushlarks can be found perched at the very top of shrubs from which they have a good overview of the surrounding country.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "horsfieldii" So far we have seen only a few Horsfield's Bushlarks, race "horsfieldii". A group of 7 birds was first spotted by us on a gravel road at Eulah Creek, 20 km East of Narrabri, NSW, in January 2011. Horsfield's Bushlarks, race "horsfieldii", were next seen at Goran Lake, an ephemeral lake about 30 km South of Gunnedah, NSW, in October 2011. In October 2013 a Horsfield's Bushlark, race "horsfieldii", was flushed out of a wheat crop during harvest. Horsfield's Bushlarks, race "horsfieldii", were also found by us in paddocks at Eulah Creek, NSW, in May 2014. From then on, none were found by us until January 2024, when a single young bird was spotted near Narrabri, NSW, and another, on the same day, at Goran Lake, near Gunnedah, NSW. Since then more sightings have followed in the same area. Since 2024 they are also found by us regularly in roadside vegetation in open country between Burren Junction and Pilliga, NSW. C. Hayne reports spotting Horsfield's Bushlarks, race "horsfieldii", regularly in the area of Moree, NSW. A. Allnutt found a Horsfield's Bushlark, race "horsfieldii", at Lake Cargelligo, NSW, in January 2019. M. Eaton reports spotting a Horsfield's Bushlark, race "horsfieldii", near Oakey, QLD, in January 2019, and at Lake Samsonvale, QLD, in December 2019. They were also found at Horseshoe Lagoon, Hodel Road, Burdekin, QLD, in September 2020. V. Collins reports finding Horsfield's Bushlarks, race "horsfieldii", in wheat stubble near Narrabri, NSW, in November 2020. Race "soderbergi" B. Hensen reports spotting Horsfield's Bushlarks, race "soderbergi", in Darwin, NT, in August 2013. B. Hensen and P. Brown again found a Horsfield's Bushlark, race "soderbergi", at both Knuckey Lagoon and Leanyer Swamp, Darwin, NT, in November 2018. They were also found further inland, at Timber Creek airport, Timber Creek, NT, in November 2018. In January 2021 P. Brown again found a Horsfield's Bushlark, race "soderbergi", this time at Oolloo Road, Douglas-Daly, NT.

Photos

Race "horsfieldii"

ADULT

MALE

Ventral view of a male Horsfield's Bushlark in display flight; this is the bird whose mimicry was recorded on 21 Feb. 2024
[Between Pilliga and Burren Junction, NSW, February 2024]

Sex unknown

Frontal view of a Horsfield's Bushlark looking sideways
[Between Pilliga and Burren Junction, NSW, March 2026]

Frontal view of an adult Horsfield's Bushlark on a gravel road looking sideways
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2011]

Near-lateral view of a Horsfield's Bushlark on the ground (photo courtesy of C. Hayne)

Lateral view of a Horsfield's Bushlark looking at the observer
[Goran Lake, NSW, October 2011]

Lateral view of a Horsfield's Bushlark
[Goran Lake, NSW, October 2011]

Close-up lateral view of a Horsfield's Bushlark with its crest erected (photo courtesy of V. Collins)
[Near Narrabri, NSW, November 2020]

Lateral view of a Horsfield's Bushlark launching itself into the air
[Goran Lake, NSW, October 2011]

Lateral view of a Horsfield's Bushlark (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Oakey, QLD, January 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a Horsfield's Bushlark looking sideways (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Samsonvale, QLD, December 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a Horsfield's Bushlark looking sideways (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Horseshoe Lagoon, Hodel Road, Burdekin, QLD, September 2020]

Near-dorsal view of a Horsfield's Bushlark looking sideways, now with its crest erect (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Horseshoe Lagoon, Hodel Road, Burdekin, QLD, September 2020]

Close-up near-dorsal view of a Horsfield's Bushlark
[Between Burren Junction and Pilliga, NSW, November 2024]

Dorsal view of a Horsfield's Bushlark looking back over its shoulder (photo courtesy of A. Allnutt)
[Lake Cargelligo, NSW, January 2019]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

In January/February 2024, two individual sub-adult birds were found by us near Eulah Creek, NSW. Differences in their plumage rendered possible a distinction between the two.

Bird #1

Close-up lateral view of an immature Horsfield's Bushlark looking at the observer; the pale gape suggests that this bird is immature, although the (presumably mostly juvenile) plumage looks worn, without the expected scalloped pattern
[Near Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2024]

Close-up lateral view of an immature Horsfield's Bushlark scanning the sky above
[Near Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2024]

Close-up lateral view of an immature Horsfield's Bushlark
[Near Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2024]

Close-up near-dorsal view of an immature Horsfield's Bushlark looking sideways
[Near Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2024]

Bird #2

Close-up lateral view of an immature Horsfield's Bushlark looking at the observer; the pale gape suggests that this bird is immature, although the (presumably mostly juvenile) plumage looks worn; this bird has visible remnants of the characteristic chestnut edge lining of the wing coverts, distinguishing it from its sibling
[Near Eulah Creek, NSW, February 2024]

Close-up lateral view of an immature Horsfield's Bushlark
[Near Eulah Creek, NSW, February 2024]

Close-up lateral view of an immature Horsfield's Bushlark with its crest raised
[Near Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2024]

Race "soderbergi"

ADULT

MALE

Near-dorsal view of a male Horsfield's Bushlark marking its territory from a high perch; this is the bird whose calls were recorded on 11 November 2018 (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Knuckey Lagoon, Darwin, NT, November 2018]

Near-frontal/ventral view of a Horsfield's Bushlark in display flight (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Darwin, NT, August 2013]

Sex unknown

Frontal view of an adult Horsfield's Bushlark with its crest raised (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Leanyer Swamp, Darwin, NT, November 2018]

Near-frontal view of a Horsfield's Bushlark (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Leanyer Swamp, Darwin, NT, November 2018]

Near-frontal view of an adult Horsfield's Bushlark issuing its call (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Leanyer Swamp, Darwin, NT, November 2018]

Near-frontal view of a Horsfield's Bushlark looking sideways (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Leanyer Swamp, Darwin, NT, November 2018]

Near-lateral view of a Horsfield's Bushlark, first looking left... (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Oolloo Road, Douglas-Daly, NT, January 2021]

Near-lateral view of a Horsfield's Bushlark, now looking right (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Oolloo Road, Douglas-Daly, NT, January 2021]

Near-lateral view of a Horsfield's Bushlark (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Darwin, NT, August 2013]

Lateral view of a Horsfield's Bushlark (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Darwin, NT, August 2013]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Partially migratory

Elementary unit: Solitary/pair

In the northern (tropical) parts of Australia, parts of the Horsfield's Bushlark population remain and are sedentary. Others are breeding migrants to the south-eastern part of the continent.

Lateral view of a Horsfield's Bushlark on a gravel road; they are often found by us either on fence lines, or fence posts, or on the road surface itself
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2011]

"Find the bird!" - Horsfield's Bushlark relying on its camouflage to stay hidden in a fallow field
(photo courtesy of V. Collins)
[Near Narrabri, NSW, November 2020]

Distant near-dorsal view of a Horsfield's Bushlark caught on camera when flushing ouf of a wheat crop during harvest
[Near Bellata, NSW, October 2013]

Distant dorsal view of a Horsfield's Bushlark caught on camera when flushing ouf of a wheat crop during harvest
[Near Bellata, NSW, October 2013]

Overview of a Horsfield's Bushlark flushing ouf of a wheat crop during harvest (click on image to see the full field-of-view)
[Near Bellata, NSW, October 2013]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

singlrk_20220912.mp3	horsfieldii (NW NSW)	Territorial calls (male)	© MD
singlrk_20141121.mp3	horsfieldii (NW NSW)	Territorial calls (male display flight)	© MD
singlrk_20151219.m4a	horsfieldii (NW NSW)	Territorial calls (male)	© MD
singlrk_20240221.m4a	horsfieldii (NW NSW)	Mimicry (many species! male in display flight)	© MD
singlrk_20240307.m4a	horsfieldii (NW NSW)	? (at night, while roosting)	© MD
singlrk_pb_20181111_2.m4a	soderbergi (Top End, NT)	Territorial calls (male)	© PB
singlrk_pb_20181111.m4a	soderbergi (Top End, NT)	Territorial calls (male) + mimicry (Jacky Winter)	© PB
singlrk_pb_20181111_3.m4a	soderbergi (Top End, NT)	Territorial calls (male) + mimicry (Jacky Winter)	© PB
singlrk_pb_20190920.m4a	soderbergi (Top End, NT)	Mimicry (Lemon-bellied Flycatcher)	© PB

More Singing Bushlark sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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