Malabar lark is very similar to the crested lark, which breeds in northern India. The Malabar lark is smaller and dark-streaked reddish brown in plumage, whereas the crested lark is grey. The belly is white. The sexes are similar. Sykes's lark is another Indian relative that also has reddish-brown plumage, but is smaller, shorter-billed, with a stiff upright crest and has plain rufous underparts. The Malabar lark is found in western India. It is a common bird of open country, cultivation and scrub, often at some altitude. The Malabar lark is a sedentary breeding bird that nests on the ground, laying two
Malabar region moisture-laden Southwest monsoon rains. The Malabar Coast featured (and in some instances still does) a number of historic port cities. Notable among these were/are Naura, Vizhinjam, Muziris, Nelcynda, Beypore and Thundi (near Kadalundi) during ancient times, and Kozhikode (Calicut), Cochin in the medieval period, and have served as centers of the Indian Ocean trade for millennia. Because of their orientation to the sea and to maritime commerce, the coastal cities of Malabar are very cosmopolitan and have hosted some of the first groups of Christians (now known as Saint Thomas Christians), Jews (today called as Cochin Jews), and Muslims (at