Shore Lark
Encyclopedia
The Shore Lark called the Horned Lark in North America
, is a species of bird
in the genus
Eremophila
.
s, this is a distinctive-looking species on the ground, mainly brown-grey above and pale below, with a striking black and yellow face pattern. The summer male has black "horns", which give this species its American name. America has a number of races distinguished by the face pattern and back color of males, especially in summer. The southern European mountain race Eremophila alpestris penicillata is greyer above, and the yellow of the face pattern is replaced with white.
Vocalizations are high-pitched, lisping or tinkling, and weak. The song, given in flight as is common among larks, consists of a few chips followed by a warbling, ascending trill.
, northernmost Europe
and Asia
and in the mountains of southeast Europe. There is also an isolated population on a plateau in Colombia
. It is mainly resident in the south of its range, but northern populations of this passerine
bird
are migratory
, moving further south in winter.
This is a bird of open ground. In Eurasia it breeds above the tree line in mountains and the far north. In most of Europe, it is most often seen on seashore flats in winter, leading to the European name. In the UK it can be found as a winter stopover along the coasts and in eastern England although a mated pair have been recently spotted in Windmill End nature reserve in the West Midlands. In America, where there are no other larks to compete with, it's also found on farmland, on prairies, in deserts, on golf courses and airports, and the like.
s being laid. Food is seed
s supplemented with insect
s in the breeding season. The nest may be near corn or soybeans for a source of food, and the female chooses the site.
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, is a species of bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
in the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Eremophila
Eremophila (bird)
The bird genus Eremophila comprises the two horned larks:* the Shore Lark, Eremophila alpestris, known in North America as the Horned Lark,* and Temminck's Lark, or Temminck's Horned Lark, Eremophila bilopha....
.
Description
Unlike most other larkLark
Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. All species occur in the Old World, and in northern and eastern Australia; only one, the Shore Lark, has spread to North America, where it is called the Horned Lark...
s, this is a distinctive-looking species on the ground, mainly brown-grey above and pale below, with a striking black and yellow face pattern. The summer male has black "horns", which give this species its American name. America has a number of races distinguished by the face pattern and back color of males, especially in summer. The southern European mountain race Eremophila alpestris penicillata is greyer above, and the yellow of the face pattern is replaced with white.
Vocalizations are high-pitched, lisping or tinkling, and weak. The song, given in flight as is common among larks, consists of a few chips followed by a warbling, ascending trill.
Distribution and habitat
The Shore Lark breeds across much of North America from the high Arctic south to the Isthmus of TehuantepecIsthmus of Tehuantepec
The Isthmus of Tehuantepec is an isthmus in Mexico. It represents the shortest distance between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean, and prior to the opening of the Panama Canal was a major shipping route known simply as the Tehuantepec Route...
, northernmost Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and in the mountains of southeast Europe. There is also an isolated population on a plateau in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. It is mainly resident in the south of its range, but northern populations of this passerine
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
are migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
, moving further south in winter.
This is a bird of open ground. In Eurasia it breeds above the tree line in mountains and the far north. In most of Europe, it is most often seen on seashore flats in winter, leading to the European name. In the UK it can be found as a winter stopover along the coasts and in eastern England although a mated pair have been recently spotted in Windmill End nature reserve in the West Midlands. In America, where there are no other larks to compete with, it's also found on farmland, on prairies, in deserts, on golf courses and airports, and the like.
Breeding
The nest is on the ground, with 2-5 eggEgg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
s being laid. Food is seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s supplemented with insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s in the breeding season. The nest may be near corn or soybeans for a source of food, and the female chooses the site.
Status and conservation
In the open areas of western North America, Horned Larks are among the bird species most often killed by wind turbines.Sources
- van den Berg, Arnoud (2005) Morphology of Atlas Horned Lark Dutch BirdingDutch BirdingDutch Birding is an ornithological magazine published by the Dutch Birding Association. Its editor is Arnoud van den Berg. It was first published in 1979....
27(4):256-8 - Small, Brian (2002) The Horned Lark on the Isles of Scilly Birding WorldBirding WorldBirding World is a monthly birding magazine published in the United Kingdom. It is the magazine of the Bird Information Service, based at Cley next the Sea, Norfolk....
15(3): 111-20 (discusses a possible Nearctic race bird on the Isles of Scilly in 2001)
External links
- Horned Larks in Flight (Westmoreland, NH)
- Cyberbirding: Horned Lark
- Page from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology with photographs and sound
- Shore Lark videos, photos & sounds on the Internet Bird Collection
- Horned Lark - Eremophila alpestris - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- Horned Lark Information and Photos - South Dakota Birds and Birding