Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris)

Horned Lark [lateral view of fledgling/juvenile]: Photograph Credit: Stephen J. Stedman; Metcalfe County, Kentucky; 9 June 2013.

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Abundance: Uncommon to Very Uncommon at all seasons, becoming Fairly Common to Common during winter once every decade or so as a result of an influx of birds from the north; recorded in 24 Regional counties (Map of UCR Distribution); data from Regional bird-monitoring projects are too few to determine a trend in the Regional breeding population (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Permanent Resident; photograph [lateral view of adult] (Judy C. Fuson; Student's Home Rd., DeKalb County, Tennessee; 27 February 2010).

Regional High Count and CBC/CBB High Count: 2150 (19 December 2000; Clay County, Tennessee [CBC]; m. ob.); FBC/FBB High Count: 25 (25 September 2010; DeKalb County, Tennessee [FBB]; m. ob.); SBC/SBB High Count: 12 (10 May 1997; Putnam County, Tennessee [SBC]; m. ob.).

Breeding: Confirmed (Recent); nest constructed on the ground, often near or under a tuft of grass; nesting begins by mid-March; a song period in May indicates that the lark is double-brooded  in the Region. The juvenile plumage is quite different from that of adults, as depicted in this photograph (Stephen J. Stedman; Metcalfe County, Kentucky; 9 June 2013).

Habitat: Large, open fields; fields with bare earth appear to be preferred to fields with some vegetative cover.

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: No registrations.

Foray Results: A summary of data from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):

* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.

Remarks: The Regional High Count took place during one of the occasional winters when large flocks of larks from the north entered the Region; the Putnam County, Tennessee, high count (800) was established during that winter (20 December 2001), and the Pulaski County, Kentucky, high count (1000) was established during the same winter (31 December 2001).

    During the occasional winter when large flocks of larks enter the Region, these flocks will sometimes include Lapland Longspurs, as was the case during the latter half of December 2001, when several county records of that longspur were made, usually as a result of checking lark flocks for their presence.

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited