Back to top. Sign in to see your badges. Listen +9 more audio recordings. Longevity records of North American birds. They are able to fly at 16-18 days old and reach the adult size at about one month. North America has a number of races distinguished by the face pattern and back color of males, especially in summer. Historically this type of habitat was found in prairies in western Oregon and Washington, in dune habitats along the coast of Washington, on the sandy beaches and spits along the Columbia and Willamette Rivers, and in grasslands, estuaries, and sandy beaches in British Columbia. (2014). Sibley, D. A. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD, USA. If she is followed, she walks rapidly away from the nest before flying. They are mainly brown-grey above and pale below, with a striking black and yellow face pattern. Available from http://rmbo.org/pifassessment. If repeatedly flushed from her nest, she performs a distraction display, fluttering up and landing about a foot from the nest in a crouched posture with her wings spread, sometimes uttering soft distress calls. The streaked horned lark nests on the ground in sparsely vegetated sites dominated by grasses and forbs. A clutch usually consists of 2-5 gray eggs with brown spots. Males defend territories from other males and females will occasionally chase away intruding females. There is also an isolated population on a plateau in Colombia. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, USA. 2. Identification. Horned Larks walk or run over open ground as they search for seeds and insects. Appears squatty with short legs and low profile body. To dig a cavity, she uses her bill to loosen soil and flip it aside, sometimes also kicking dirt out with her feet. According to the IUCN Red List, the total Horned lark population size is more than 140,000,000 individuals. Horned larks are philopatric and after every migration, they always return to their birthplace. They communicate with the help of high-pitched, lisping or tinkling sounds. North American Bird Conservation Initiative. Horned Larks also frequent areas cleared by humans, such as plowed fields and mowed expanses around airstrips. Horned larks usually breed in spring and summer. The nest cavity diameter is about 3–4 inches; the inside nest diameter is about 2.5 inches and its depth about 1.5 inches. It is mainly resident in the south of its range, but northern populations of this passerine bird are migratory, moving further south in winter. Horned larks are threatened by the loss of habitat due to agricultural pesticides, urbanization, and human encroachment. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, Editor). In wintertime, flocks of Horned Larks, often mixing with other birds of open ground, can be seen along roadsides, in feedlots, and on fields spread with waste grain and manure. Partners in Flight (2017). Horned Larks favor bare, dry ground and areas of short, sparse vegetation; they avoid places where grasses grow more than a couple of inches high. There is also an isolated population on a plateau in Colombia. (2014). During the breeding season, they become very territorial. Sand, dirt, gravel flats are home, unlike preferences of most songbirds. They feed their nestlings mostly insects, which provide the protein the young birds need to grow. Avian Conservation Assessment Database. Streaked horned larks are endemic to lowland habitats west of the Cascade Mountains in the Pacific Northwest (i.e. Explore Birds of the World to learn more. (2019). The southern European mountain race is greyer above, and the yellow of the face pattern is replaced with white. She weaves fines grasses, cornstalks, small roots, and other plant material and lines it with down, fur, feathers, and occasionally lint. Except for the central feathers, the tail is mostly black, contrasting with the paler body; … Horned larks are widespread songbirds found across the northern hemisphere. A. and A. S. Love. At high altitudes and latitudes, Horned Larks forage on snowfields in the late afternoon, though they mostly feed in areas free of snow.Back to top, Horned Larks eat seeds and insects.