This sparrow-like bird is less well-known, and you’ll need a change of scenery to find them if your orbit is anything urban. Listen for their high-pitched tinkling song in open fields, often from the males as they perform their flight-song display. The Horned Lark is the only lark species native to North America. This bird’s namesake “horns” are curled tufts of black feathers that can be erected and are usually visible only at close range. Male birds sport these during the breeding season, at times raising or lowering them expressively.

They are present year-round in most of the 48 contiguous states but inhabit a range in elevation—from sea level to 13,000 feet! Their diet consists of seeds and insects; nestlings eat mostly insects for the protein they need. Most food is foraged in open ground in pairs or groups, walking or running on the ground.

When females are ready to mate, they take a ‘dust bath,’ and males will spar. Males will fly high into the air, then hover and circle while singing to woo a mate. Both males and females defend their territories. The female creates the nest in a depression in the ground or excavates a small cavity herself. She covers the excavated dirt with pebbles, corn, and dung to distract predators, which are mainly small mammals.

Original mixed media on raw stretched canvas with maple float frame.