Horned Lark
The spring migration is on! Beginning with Horned Larks and Snow Buntings in February, the migration will last through the first week of May, with Baltimore Orioles and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds being the last to arrive. Recent sightings include Red-winged Blackbirds, Rough-legged Hawks, Wood Ducks, Sandhill Cranes, and others.
Horned Larks are now abundant in the area. Many winter over, many head a short distance south in the fall and are now returning. They are flighty, nondescript little birds that love to gather along the edges of roadways in flocks, called an “exaltation” or “happiness” of larks, to eat grit.
Most people are not familiar with this bird, even though it is common. They are usually glimpsed flying off as you zoom by them at 55 miles an hour. At this speed, they appear to be little brownish birds with a hint of black on their head. If you are fortunate enough to be able to spot them through binoculars, you will see they are brown with a black streak across the top of their breast, another black streak running from their bill in an inverted J-shape, and, their most distinctive feature, two little black “horns” at the top of their head. Of course, these are not horns, but merely tufted feathers giving them a bull-like appearance. They have the ability to flatten the horns.
As with most birds, there are local variations in the color of the field marks. In the Horned Lark, there is the additional variation of back color, which is strongly correlated to the color of the soil in areas in which it resides. If it lives in an area of lighter colored soils, especially out West, it will have a lighter back. Birds in our area will have a darker back. There are also differences in wing length, with migratory birds having longer wings than non-migratory birds.
Unlike most songbirds, The Horned Lark walks or runs instead of hopping. This may help it to catch the ground insects which are its favorite food. They are adept at chasing the insects and often run after them for 8 to 10 feet. Newly fledged young will hop, but switch to walking at 27 days of age.
One of our earliest nesting birds, they are ground nesters, preferring to nest on bare ground with sparse, short vegetation. Their breeding territory includes the northern edges of Great Lakes states, Alaska, and all of Canada except the central part dominated by forest. It is opportunistic in its nesting, and will readily nest anywhere there is open ground, including golf courses and edges of airports.
While courting, the male rapidly vibrates his wings, parading in front of the female to show off his beautiful black chest patch. With droopy wings and tail spread wide, he holds his body parallel to the ground, chittering with his mouth open.
The male also engages in an amazing courtship flight. He climbs as high as 800 feet above the ground and begins singing his courtship song as he circles high above. Locking his wings at the end of the song, the male dives headfirst with closed wings, speeding towards the ground and pulling up only at the last minute. One must wonder if these birds ever misjudge their speed and crash into the ground.
If the female accepts his advances, they search for a shallow depression on bare or sparsely vegetated land upon which to build their cup shaped nest. Constructed of grass and other vegetation, it is lined with plant down and hair. Four greenish white speckled eggs are laid. The female incubates them for 10 to 14 days before they hatch.
Both the male and the female care for the young, which are born with a covering of protective down. The pair will often feed together during nesting, using their bills to dig up insect larvae and other invertebrates.
Horned Larks are relative newcomers, with fossil records dating back to the late Pleistocene era approximately 400,000 years ago. Deforestation in the late 19th century due to logging led to a huge population increase. With the reforestation that is now going on in much of the East, the populations are now declining. Predation by raccoons, skunks, and cats has also contributed to their decline, as has development. They are also susceptible to certain insecticides applied to crops. The future of this bird will depend on protection of the open grassland areas that it prefers for nesting as well the use of environmentally friendly pesticides.
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