Horned lark
Eremophila alpestris (Linnaeus, 1758)
The horned lark (Eremophila alpestris), also called the shore lark or common horned lark, is a bird in the family Alaudidae and the order Passeriformes, grouped with songbirds and other perching birds. It is a small bird with an adult body mass of 33.3 g, ranging from 33.25 to 36.58 g in our sources, and a wingspan of 32 cm.

Quick facts about the horned lark
The horned lark is a migratory, terrestrial omnivore of grassland habitats, with a geographic range of 35,120,000 km². It lays 3.5 eggs per clutch with 1.5 clutches per year, incubates eggs for 11 days, reaches sexual maturity at 1 year and has a lifespan of 7.9 years, with values up to 8 years.
- Weight
- 33.3 g – 36.6 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 32 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 7.92 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 8 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- grasslandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 11 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.2 – 3.52src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.5src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the horned lark?
Photos of the horned lark
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.









Where does the horned lark live?
Not recorded
What is the horned lark?
The horned lark or shore lark (Eremophila alpestris) is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found across the northern hemisphere. It is known as "horned lark" in North America for distinctive feathers on the heads of the male birds in summer, and as "shore lark" in Europe because it can be found on shorelines in the winter.
From the Wikipedia article “Horned lark” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Horned_lark&oldid=1382767616), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the horned lark sound like?
Is the horned lark endangered?
The horned lark is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the horned lark classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyAlaudidae
- genusEremophila
- SpeciesEremophila alpestris (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Alauda alpestris, Alauda cornuta, Chionophila alpestris, Chionophilos alpestris, Otocoris alpestris elwesi, Otocoris penicillata, Otocoris penicillata albigula, Phileremos cornutus
Other names and names in other languages (80)
- Common horned larkEnglish
- Shore larkEnglish
- Shore larkEnglish
- قبرة مقرنةArabic
- قبرة الساحلArabic
- قبرة ذات القرونArabic
- Рагаты жаўрукBelarusian
- Жаваранак рагатыBelarusian
- Ушата чучулигаBulgarian
- Алпийска чучулигаBulgarian
- Балканска чучулигаBulgarian
- Alc'hweder kornekBreton
- alosa banyudaCatalan
- ШӑрӑмкуҫChuvash
- Мӑйракаллӑ тӑриChuvash
- skřivan ouškatýCzech
- Ehedydd TraethWelsh
- ehedydd y traethWelsh
- Ehedyddion y TraethWelsh
- bjerglærkeDanish
- OhrenlercheGerman
- ΧιονάδαGreek
- MontalaŭdoEsperanto
- korna alaŭdoEsperanto
- Alondra cornudaSpanish
- Alondra de OrillaSpanish
- sarviklõokeEstonian
- چکاوک شاخدارPersian
- tunturikiuruFinnish
- KnavalerkurFaroese
- alouette cornueFrench
- Alouette hausse-colFrench
- alouette haussecolFrench
- Fuiseog adharcachIrish
- Uiseag dhubhScottish Gaelic
- Ushag eairkaghManx
- צחיחנית חרמוןHebrew
- צחיחנית החרמוןHebrew
- planinska ševaCroatian
- havasi fülespacsirtaHungarian
- Եղջերավոր արտույտArmenian
- FjallalævirkiIcelandic
- Allodola golagiallaItalian
- ハマヒバリJapanese
- qutsissormiutaqKalaallisut
- Құлақты бозторғайKazakh
- 해변종다리Korean
- Awhesyth trethCornish
- OuereléierchenLuxembourgish
- IštáničatȟaŋkaLakota
- raguotasis vieversysLithuanian
- geltongurklis raguotasis vieversysLithuanian
- ausainais cīrulisLatvian
- ушеста чучулигаMacedonian
- Dijádídlǫ́ʼíNavajo
- fjellerkeNorwegian Bokmål
- strandleeuwerikDutch
- górniczekPolish
- górniczek (zwyczajny)Polish
- Górniczek zwyczajnyPolish
- Cotovia-cornudaPortuguese
- calhandra-cornudaPortuguese
- calhandra-cornuda-comumPortuguese
- Ciocârlie urecheatăRomanian
- РюмRussian
- рогатый жаворонокRussian
- Муостаах күөрэгэйYakut
- RuoššaállatNorthern Sami
- ruoššalávvirNorthern Sami
- ruoššaleivvošNorthern Sami
- uškárik vrchovskýSlovak
- uhati škrjanecSlovenian
- Ušata ševaSerbian
- berglärkaSwedish
- kulakli toygarTurkish
- Жайворонок рогатийUkrainian
- pогатий жайворонокUkrainian
- Sơn ca bờ biểnVietnamese
- 角百灵Chinese
- 角百靈Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the horned lark
Other species in the same genus Eremophila.

Temminck's lark
Eremophila bilopha
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the horned lark?
The horned lark is a bird in the family Alaudidae, order Passeriformes, grouped with songbirds and other perching birds.
How big is the horned lark?
The horned lark is a small bird weighing 33.3 g, with values from 33.25 to 36.58 g, and has a wingspan of 32 cm.
What does the horned lark eat?
The horned lark is an omnivore.
What habitat does the horned lark live in?
The horned lark lives in grassland and has a terrestrial lifestyle. It is migratory.
Is the horned lark endangered?
No. The horned lark is listed as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the horned lark live?
The horned lark has a lifespan of 7.9 years, with values up to 8 years reported.
How many eggs does the horned lark lay?
The horned lark lays 3.5 eggs per clutch and has 1.5 clutches per year, with an incubation period of 11 days.
Who named the horned lark?
The horned lark, Eremophila alpestris, was named by (Linnaeus, 1758).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Horned lark (Eremophila alpestris). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/horned-lark
“Horned lark (Eremophila alpestris).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/horned-lark.
@misc{horned_lark_2026,
title = {Horned lark (Eremophila alpestris)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/horned-lark},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}