# Horned lark (*Eremophila alpestris*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/horned-lark  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

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. 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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 33.3 g – 36.6 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 32 cm |
| Lifespan | 7.92 years |
| Diet | Omnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 8 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | grassland |
| Egg incubation | 11 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 3.2 – 3.52 |
| Age at maturity | 12 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1.5 |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Migration | Migratory |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Passeriformes
- family: Alaudidae
- genus: Eremophila
- species: *Eremophila alpestris* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: *Alauda alpestris*, *Alauda cornuta*, *Chionophila alpestris*, *Chionophilos alpestris*, *Otocoris alpestris elwesi*, *Otocoris penicillata*, *Otocoris penicillata albigula*, *Phileremos cornutus*

## Common questions

### 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

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: Horned lark (Eremophila alpestris). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/horned-lark