The species occupies sparsely vegetated semi-arid, arid and steppe grassland habitats; it is locally adapted to arable land, occurs on coastal dunes, and stony fields (Hume et al. 2020). Its distribution extends from the S half of Europe to C Asia, Middle East and N Africa. European species strongholds are located in France, Spain and locally in SE & E Europe (Keller et al. 2020).
Most European populations are migratory, the wintering grounds being in N & NE Africa. Iberian & N African populations are considered largely resident.
Its population trend in Europe is increasing. Evaluated as “Least Concern” (BirdLife International 2021).