Alauda gulgula
Silhouette: Gossipguy and T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The Oriental skylark (Alauda gulgula) is a species of skylark found in the Sino-Indian region and parts of central Asia. Like other skylarks, it is found in open grassland where it feeds on seeds and insects. The Oriental skylark was described by the English soldier and naturalist James Franklin in 1831 and given the binomial name Alauda gulgula. The meaning of the specific epithet gulgula is uncertain but is perhaps a reference to the song as gula is Latin for "throat", or maybe the colour of a gulgula, a sweet which looks like doughnut, made in many parts of Central India.
Other alternate names for the Oriental skylark include small skylark, eastern skylark, Indian skylark and lesser skylark. A. g... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Udawalawe National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 2 | Yala National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 3 | Wilpattu National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 4 | Satpura National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Nagarhole National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 7 | Minneriya National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 8 | Kaziranga National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Bandipur National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Ranthambore National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 11 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 12 | Mudumalai National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 13 | Periyar National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 14 | Horton Plains National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 15 | Sundarbans National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 16 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 17 | Taroko National Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 18 | Kanha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 19 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Oriental Skylark sighting in Minneriya National Park on a given day, based on 17 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 130th most-seen of the 155 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report an Oriental Skylark in Minneriya National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August and November–June, the lowest months. That is one of Minneriya National Park's driest months, with about 35 mm of rain against 340 mm in November.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Oriental Skylark sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
7th of 19
Of the 19 parks where we can rate Oriental Skylark sightings, Minneriya National Park ranks 7th at under 5%. The best odds are in Udawalawe National Park (Sri Lanka, about 10%), Yala National Park (Sri Lanka, about 10%) and Wilpattu National Park (Sri Lanka, about 10%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Oriental Skylark that you can see in Minneriya National Park (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Indian Robin (about 50%), Purple-rumped Sunbird (about 50%) and Black-hooded Oriole (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Oriental Skylark is recorded against all the birds logged in Minneriya National Park (17 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.
