Life List 088
Visually documented
Horned Lark
Eremophila alpestris
- First photographed
- June 27, 2026
- First location
- Utah, United States
- Conservation status
- Least Concern
An evolving study
Horned Lark portfolio
This collection grows as I return to photograph new behavior, habitat, seasons, and stages of life.
Natural history
Species at a glance
Eremophila alpestris
Overview
The Horned Lark is an open-ground songbird with a broad Northern Hemisphere distribution. It walks and runs over bare soil and short vegetation, nesting in a shallow ground depression.
Identification
Pale brown upperparts, pale underparts, a dark breast band, and bold black facial marks against a yellow or white face. Adult males can raise tiny black feather tufts that form the namesake horns.
Range
Found across much of North America and widely through Eurasia and northern Africa. Northern and high-elevation populations move south or downslope in winter.
Habitat
Tundra, prairie, desert flats, plowed fields, dry lakebeds, beaches, overgrazed pasture, alpine ground, and other sparsely vegetated open terrain.
Diet
Seeds and other plant material through much of the year, with insects important during the breeding season.
Photography by Brittany Templin