Sexes alike. Sandy-brown above, streaked blackish; pointed, upstanding crest distinctive; brown tail has dull rufous outer feathers; whitish and dull  yellowish-brown below, the breast streaked dark brown. The Malabar G. malabarica (15cm) and Sykes’s Crested Larks G. deva (13cm) are very similar, but overall plumage is darker, more rufous-brown; also both are birds of peninsular and S India. Small flocks, breaking into pairs when breeding; runs briskly on ground, the pointed crest carried upstanding; also settles on bush tops, stumps, wire fences, overhead wires.