Males are easily detected during the breeding season by the long descending whistle that accompanies their undulating and dive-bombing flight displays.

Although some subspecies ceylonensis (from Sri Lanka) and siccata (from Gujarat) have been named, variations are considered to be clinal and they are treated as a monotypic species.

[4][5] This species is restricted to below 1,000 m (3,300 ft) elevation and is found from south of the Himalayas to Sri Lanka extending to the Indus River system in the west and to Assam in the east.

The display of the male consists of a song flight that involves soaring up with some chirruping calls and then diving with partly closed wings and then rising up in a glide.

This undulating flight is accompanied by a long low whistle at each dive and at the tip of each rise by a sharp chilp note.

The display ends with the male descending at an angle and landing on a small mound or clod before repeating the performance after a few minutes.