Alaudala cheleensis
Silhouette: Gossipguy and T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%
The Asian short-toed lark (Alaudala cheleensis) is a lark in the family Alaudidae. The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1871. It is found from south-central to eastern Asia. Formerly or presently, some authorities have considered the Asian short-toed lark to belong to the genus Calandrella or to be a subspecies of the lesser short-toed lark. Alternate names for the Asian short-toed lark include the Asiatic short-toed lark, eastern short-toed lark (a name also used by the steppe greater short-toed lark), grey short-toed lark, Mongolian short-toed lark (not to be confused with the species of the same name, Calandrella dukhunensis), salined lark and salt-marsh lark.
A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2020 compared the nuclear and mitochondrial DNA from the sand, Asian short-toed, and Mediterranean short-toed larks. The study analysed samples from 130 individuals that represented 16 of the 18 recognised subspecies. The resulting phylogenetic tree indicated that neither the Asian short-toed lark, nor the lesser short-toed lark as currently defined are monophyletic. Most of the subspecies were also found to be non-monophyletic. The authors... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park | 🇲🇳 Mongolia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beijing | 🇨🇳 China |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report an Asian Short-toed Lark sighting in Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park on a given day, based on 138 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 29th most-seen of the 122 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July and August
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report an Asian Short-toed Lark in Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park on a given day, against about 10% in September, the lowest month. January–April and October–November have too few records to rate.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Asian Short-toed Lark sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park, in our data
Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Asian Short-toed Lark sightings: about 30% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Alaudidae
The closest relatives of the Asian Short-toed Lark that you can see in Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park (family Alaudidae, Larks) are Horned Lark (about 70%), Crested Lark (about 10%) and Skylark (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Asian Short-toed Lark is recorded against all the birds logged in Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park (138 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
