Streaked Horned Larks are small, light brown songbirds with itty-bitty bills and round heads. Their tummies are white, and the underside of their tails is darkly colored. They have a band of black feathers across their head that stick up on either end, resembling little horns. They also have a black handlebar moustache and a yellow goatee. They love to sing and start their songs before dawn.
To create her nest, a female Streaked Horned Lark will scratch a dent in the ground near a rock or a clump of grass to protect her nest from the wind. She then uses grass and leaves to weave a nest structure and lines it with feathers and other soft materials. Females will often add a small collection of found objects to their nest called “pavings.”
Pavings can be small rocks, corn stalks, or dirt clods. The exact reason they do this is unknown.
Male Streaked Horned Larks have an intricate mating dance they perform for the lady larks. While singing, he holds his body horizontal, fans his tail, puffs out his chest, vibrates his drooped wings and struts!
Their diet consists of seeds and insects.
The endangered Streaked Horned Larks are only found in the Pacific Northwest. Their population is continuing to decline because of a lack of native habitat. Streaked Horned Larks like to live in wide, open fields with patches of bare dirt and sparse grass. Nowadays, these larks can also be found on plowed fields, mudflats, prairies and sandy beaches.
The Streaked Horned Larks are a valuable and rare native Pacific Northwest species. How sad would it be to never hear their early morning songs again? Help save endangered birds!
