Australian Lark
Singing Bushlark
Crest Feature

In the Australian Field Guides I've looked at, most reference the Australasian (Singing Bushlark) Lark as being distinguished from a Skylark by the lack of crest on its head. However, on the 9th December 2006, I came across two seperate groups of birds in the Barabool Hills near Geelong in Southern Victoria, that contradicted this description. The photos where taken around 10am as temperatures were rising towards predicted 40 degree weather. I'd say temperatures were up in the low 30's by 10am, so this may have contributed to the crest being raised as a "heat sink" to dissipate heat from its head. I've been unable to ascertain if this is a function of crests in birds, but when thinking of most Australian Species that have crests, most are all dry-weather/arid area species (with the Eastern Whipbird being the exception - but this may be an ancestral thing). Anyway, I'm interested to discover why this crest isn't noted in the field guides, since Singing Bushlarks are common in high temperature regions of Australia where it would be regularly observed. Has this description been adapted from the Asian Singing Bushlark (Mirafra cantillans) where this feature isn't present??? Is this only a feature of certain subspecies of Australasian Bushlark (Mirafra javanica)???
If anyone has any information on this subject, please contact me at telephema@gmail.com