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Horned Larks | Horned Lark Damage Assessment | Horned Lark Damage Management | Horned Larks Resources | Horned Larks Acknowledgments | ICWDM | Wildlife Species Information |
Figure 1. Horned lark, Eremophila alpestris
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Identification
Horned larks (Eremophila alpestris, Fig. 1) are ground-dwelling birds that are slightly larger than house sparrows. They are brown, with a yellowish face, black breast, black “whiskers,” and two small black “horns.” Their song is a high-pitched, sustained call given from the ground or high in the air.
General Biology
Large numbers of horned larks leave agricultural areas in the spring and migrate into foothills, dry grasslands, and desert, where nesting and rearing of the young takes place. Nests are depressions in the ground, heavily lined with grasses, weed stems, and flower heads. Usually 3 to 4 eggs are laid with an incubation period of 11 to 14 days. The nesting season extends from March to June with 2 or 3 broods commonly raised each year. In June and July the juvenile birds move from the open country into the general farming areas. Bird numbers increase throughout the remainder of the summer and early fall as additional bands move in from the foothills.
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Horned Larks | Horned Lark Damage Assessment | Horned Lark Damage Management | Horned Larks Resources | Horned Larks Acknowledgments | ICWDM | Wildlife Species Information |
Range
Horned larks breed widely throughout North America, from northern Alaska to southern Mexico. They retreat from northern latitudes and higher elevations in autumn, wintering from southern Canada southward across the United States and Mexico.
Habitat
In certain parts of California the horned lark is a serious crop pest. The damage occurs mostly in the interior valleys from Sacramento south to the Imperial Valley, and along the coast from San Francisco south to San Diego. Damage also occurs to crops in the Mojave Desert region and other desert valleys in southeastern California. Horned larks do not usually cause problems in other areas where they are present. Resident populations of horned larks are found in the stubble, grass, and fallow lands near cultivated fields. The majority of the birds live in the wide expanses of the deserts, foot-hills, and dry grasslands that encircle the farming areas.
Food Habits
The food of the horned lark consists largely of seeds picked up from the ground. Analysis of the food items contained in the stomachs of 259 horned larks collected in California showed the birds’ annual food to consist of about 91% plant and 9% animal matter. Seeds of weeds and wild grasses averaged 51% of the total food.
Jerry P. Clark. Primary State Biologist. California Department of Food and Agriculture. Sacramento, California 95814
Scott E. Hygnstrom. Extension Wildlife Damage Specialist. Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Wildlife. University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68583-0819
