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Photo by Brian Mickelson
Photo Copyright Brian Mickelson
Horned Lark
Eremophila alpestris
NatureServe conservation status
Global (G-rank): G5
State (S-rank): S5
External links
General information
The horned lark, Eremophila alpestris, is a common widespread terrestrial bird that occurs in both the New World and the Old World. In North America, it breeds from the Arctic to Mexico, whereas in Asia, it breeds from the Arctic to central Asia. There are also outlying populations of horned larks in Morocco and Colombia. Northernmost populations tend to migrate south for the winter; populations in other areas remain year-round, though they may move to lower elevations during cold periods. In Utah, the horned lark is a common permanent resident in open deserts, and less frequently, in alpine meadows.
Horned larks walk along the ground foraging for food, and only occasionally will they perch on a plant to forage; their diet consists primarily of seeds and insects. Males begin to establish territories in January. They then engage in courtship song-flight displays for the females, and monogamous pair bonds are formed. The female selects the nesting site, which is generally on bare ground. She spends a day or two digging a small depression in the ground using her bill and feet. A few days later, she weaves a nest in this cavity using grasses and roots, and then lines it with soft materials. The female incubates her clutch of three or four eggs for about twelve days. The young are born naked and blind, and both parents feed the hatchlings. The chicks leave the nest after approximately nine to twelve days. Although they can forage for food soon after leaving the nest, the young continue to receive food from their parents for another week or more. Juveniles form small groups during the summer, and in the fall they will join larger flocks. Populations breeding in the south generally have two broods in a season. The female re-nests just seven days after her first young leave the nest.
Species range
BREEDS: northernmost North America south to southern Baja California, southern Mexico, Louisiana, northern Alabama, and North Carolina, and in South America in eastern Andes of Colombia (Cundinamarca and Boyaca). NORTHERN WINTER: southern Canada south through breeding range, and, locally and irregularly to Gulf Coast and Florida. Also occurs in Old World (AOU 1983).
Migration
Populations from breeding areas north of southern Canada are migratory. Migratory populations generally leave nonbreeding range by end of April (Terres 1980). Arrives in northernmost breeding areas in May, remains into September.
Habitat
Grassland, tundra, sandy regions, areas with scattered low shrubs, desert playas, grazed pastures, stubble fields, open cultivated areas, and rarely open areas in forest (AOU 1983). Nests in hollow on ground often next to grass tuft or clod of earth or manure.
Food habits
Eats mainly seeds and, in warm season, insects; food obtained mainly from ground surface.
Ecology
Breeding density 1.3-1.5 individuals/ha in shadscale habitat in eastern Nevada (Medin 1990). Territory size varies with habitat and population density; ranges from means of 3.5 ha in higher latitude heath (Cannings and Threlfall 1981) and 1.6 ha in the agricultural Midwest (Beason and Franks 1974), to a range of 0.3-14 ha in Colorado shorgrass prairie (Boyd 1976).
Reproductive characteristics
Egg laying occurs early to mid-June at northern end of range. Clutch size 2-7 (commonly 4). One brood annually at higher latitudes and elevations, 2 or possibly 3 at lower ones. Incubation 10-14 days, by female. Young tended by both parents, leave nest at 9-12 days. No accurate estimates of longevity/generation time; mean time between banding and recovery for birds banded as first-year birds is 2.6 years (Beason 1995).
References
- Ehrlich, P. R., D. S. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1988. The birder’s handbook[:] a field guide to the natural history of North American birds. Simon & Schuster, New York. xxx + 785 pp.
- Behle, W. H., Sorensen, E. D. and C. M. White. 1985. Utah birds: a revised checklist. Utah Museum of Natural History, Occasional Publication No. 4. Salt Lake City, UT.
- Beason, R. C. 1995. Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris). Birds of North America 195.
