Gould commented 'Every visitor from this country to the neighbouring kingdom of France, who takes an interest in birds, must have observed, when strolling towards the interior of the country from Calais to Boulogne, that within the distance of a mile, he has risen from the dusty road, one, two, or more pairs of the Crested Larks; yet on our side of the channel it very rarely occurs...'

DISTRIBUTION: Breeds throughout continental Europe and southern Sweden, east to Siberia and south to northern Africa, Arabia, Iran, north China and Korea. Western Palaearctic population resident though some dispersal occurs and occasionally recorded in Britain