≡ Menu

Do You Ever Wonder Why They Call This Bird A Horned Lark?

Horned Lark photos by Larry Jordan

Well I guess there’s no wondering now!  The Horned Lark’s horns are occipital feather tufts which can be raised or lowered but are usually erect in males1.  I’m not sure if this is a male or female but it was very nice to pose for a moment, long enough for me to capture those “horns.”

There were literally hundreds of these Horned Larks along the sides of the road as I passed through the golden, dry pastures on my way to the next site for Burrowing Owl habitat installation in Chico, California.

T o more cool bird photos, check out Bird Photography Weekly!

References: 1 Birds Of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • Amber Coakley October 10, 2010, 10:40 pm

    Hundreds? Awesome. You could not have had a better pose to show off those “horns.”

  • Klaus October 11, 2010, 5:09 am

    Great – would be a lifer for me!

  • Bird Feeders October 11, 2010, 12:43 pm

    Great photographs! I have never seem a better example of the “horns” than the first photograph. Good luck with the Burrowing Owl project!

  • Dawn Fine October 11, 2010, 4:20 pm

    wow!! Excellent photo with the horns!

  • Larry October 11, 2010, 8:15 pm

    @Amber thanks. It was a fairly cooperative bird. I wish the light had been better

    @Klaus you have many lifers in Florida waiting for me!

    @Chantelle thank you very much on both accounts. We installed 20 artificial burrows on Sunday bringing my total installations to 52. More on that to come!

    @Dawn thanks

  • Halcyon October 12, 2010, 4:04 am

    He’s a cute little devil!

  • Phil October 12, 2010, 10:48 am

    Nice one Larry. We don’t usually see the horns.

  • NatureFootstep October 15, 2010, 12:59 pm

    that´s a cool one. Nice of it to stay put for a while. 🙂

  • Wren October 18, 2010, 10:42 am

    Devilish-looking, isn’t he? The horns are impressive in your photo – well captured!

  • dreamfalcon October 24, 2010, 3:43 am

    perfect photo to show why that bird has its name!