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Horned Lark

Eremophila alpestrisOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Larks (Alaudidae)

Horned Lark (enthymia) Breeding Male Portrait
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General

Horned Lark: Medium-sized lark with pale or dark brown upperparts and white underparts. Face and throat are pale yellow to white and mask, cap, and ear tufts are black. Tail is dark with white edges. Sexes are similar. Juvenile has white-spotted brown upperparts, head and face, white eyebrow, no ear tufts, and white underparts with faintly spotted breast.

Range and Habitat

Horned Lark: Breeds in Alaska and Canadian Arctic, coastal Canada, and south throughout all of the U.S. except southeast. Spends winters from southern Canada southward; also found in Eurasia. Preferred habitats include plains, fields, airports, and beaches.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"pit-wit,wee-pit,pit-wee", "tsee-tete", "zeet"

Interesting Facts

  • The Horned Lark is the only member of the lark family that is native to the new world.
  • They are early nesters with nests found in February even in the northern states.
  • These birds return to their birthplace after every migration (a characteristic known as philopatric). Because of this, local populations have adapted to the color of their habitat resulting in 15 distinct subspecies in the West.
  • A group of larks has many collective nouns, including an "ascension", "chattering", "exaltation", "happiness", and "springul" of larks.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Horned Lark
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Eremophila alpestris
Length7 - 8 Inches
Wingspan13.25 Inches

Horned Lark

Horned Lark: Medium-sized lark with pale or dark brown upperparts and white underparts. Face and throat are pale yellow to white and mask, cap, and ear tufts are black. Tail is dark with white edges. Forages on ground, usually in open fields. Eats seeds, grains, insects and small mollusks.

● Song: "pit-wit,wee-pit,pit-wee", "tsee-tete", "zeet"

● Foraging & Feeding: Horned Lark: Eats mostly seeds, insects, and small mollusks; forages in agricultural areas, often standing and walking on roadways.

● Breeding & nesting: Horned Lark: Two to five gray or green eggs spotted with brown are laid in a nest made of grass lined with feathers and soft materials and built in a shallow depression, natural or dug by the female. Incubation ranges from 11 to 12 days and is carried out mostly by the female.

● Similar species: Horned Lark: American Pipit has gray upperparts, brown-streaked white underparts, dark gray-brown tail with white outer tail feathers, and lacks horns and black bib.

Flight Pattern

After each wing beat folds wing feathers close to body.
Horned Lark (enthymia) Breeding Male Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Horned Lark: Breeds in Alaska and Canadian Arctic, coastal Canada, and south throughout all of the U.S. except southeast. Spends winters from southern Canada southward; also found in Eurasia. Preferred habitats include plains, fields, airports, and beaches.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
Population
MigrationMigratory
Weight1.1 Ounces