Bird
Horned Lark
Eremophila alpestris
Lives in Louisiana all year and nests here. Found in all 64 parishes, across 3 habitats.
- Here
- All year
- Nesting
- Nests here
- Range
- All 64 parishes
- Habitats
- 3

At a glance
- Group
- Birds
- Here
- All year
- Nesting
- Nests here
- Range
- All 64 parishes
- Habitats
- 3
- Habitat models
- Summer, Winter
Where it lives
The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.
Habitats in Louisiana 3
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.
Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Other habitats in its models (33)
Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Louisiana. Those recorded in Louisiana first, the rest by region.
Elsewhere in the South (20)
- Appalachian Shale Barrens Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Sea Island Beach Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Beach Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Dune and Maritime Grassland Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Xeric River Dune Summer and winter.
- Central and Upper Texas Coast Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer and winter.
- Central Interior Highlands Calcareous Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
- Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Dry Chalk Bluff Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer and winter.
- Florida Dry Prairie Summer and winter.
- Florida Panhandle Beach Vegetation Summer and winter.
- South Florida Shell Hash Beach Summer and winter.
- Southeast Florida Beach Summer and winter.
- Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald Summer and winter.
- Southwest Florida Beach Summer and winter.
- Southwest Florida Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer and winter.
- Texas Coastal Bend Beach Summer and winter.
- Texas Saline Coastal Prairie Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie Summer and winter.
Northeast (1)
- Central Appalachian Alkaline Glade and Woodland Summer.
Midwest (1)
- Central Mixedgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
Land cover and other classes (11)
- Barren Land Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Woodland Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Prairie and Woodland Summer and winter.
- Eastern Great Plains Wet Meadow, Prairie, and Marsh Summer and winter.
- Eastern Highland Rim Prairie and Barrens - Dry Modifier Summer and winter.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland Summer and winter.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Summer and winter.
- Recently Burned Grassland Summer and winter.
- Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
- Unconsolidated Shore Summer and winter.
Seasons in Louisiana
- Year-round: nests here, in 36 of 64 parishes.
- Winter: does not nest here, in 59 of 64 parishes.
Food plants
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Plants matched by genus.
Native plants in these genera 9
- Coastal BristlegrassSetaria corrugata
- Giant BristlegrassSetaria magna
- Marsh BristlegrassSetaria parviflora
- Common RagweedAmbrosia artemisiifolia
- Giant RagweedAmbrosia trifida
- Lanceleaf RagweedAmbrosia bidentata
- Perennial RagweedAmbrosia psilostachya
- Erect KnotweedPolygonum erectum
- Tall KnotweedPolygonum ramosissimum
Plant genera in its diet records (7)
- Setaria Seeds. 5 diet records. 3 native plants in Louisiana
- Ambrosia Seeds. 2 diet records. 4 native plants in Louisiana
- Avena Seeds. 2 diet records. 0 native plants in Louisiana
- Fagopyrum Seeds. 2 diet records. 0 native plants in Louisiana
- Polygonum Seeds. 1 diet record. 2 native plants in Louisiana
- Triticum Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Louisiana
- Zea Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Louisiana
Also found in its main habitats
Its main habitats in Louisiana, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Birds 153
- Cape May WarblerDendroica tigrina
- Greater RoadrunnerGeococcyx californianus
- House SparrowPasser domesticus
- Inca DoveColumbina inca
- Long-eared OwlAsio otus
- Monk ParakeetMyiopsitta monachus
- Smith's LongspurCalcarius pictus
- Upland SandpiperBartramia longicauda
- Western Burrowing OwlAthene cunicularia hypugaea
- Rock PigeonColumba livia
- BobolinkDolichonyx oryzivorus
- Bronzed CowbirdMolothrus aeneus
Plants 958
- Muck SunflowerHelianthus simulans
- Canada LettuceLactuca canadensis
- Annual FleabaneErigeron annuus
- Common Evening-primroseOenothera biennis
- Cutleaf Evening-primroseOenothera laciniata
- Dog-fennelEupatorium capillifolium
- Threadleaf SundropsOenothera linifolia
- Carolina Crane's-billGeranium carolinianum
- Golden CrownbeardVerbesina encelioides
- Blackeyed SusanRudbeckia hirta var. pulcherrima
- Downy Ground-cherryPhysalis pubescens
- Gray Ground-cherryPhysalis grisea
Coastal dunes and beaches
Birds 139
- Black-throated Green WarblerDendroica virens
- Marbled GodwitLimosa fedoa
- Short-billed DowitcherLimnodromus griseus
- Sooty TernOnychoprion fuscatus
- Black RailLaterallus jamaicensis
- Nelson's Sharp-tailed SparrowAmmodramus nelsoni
- Purple MartinProgne subis
- Red KnotCalidris canutus
- Rock PigeonColumba livia
- Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensis
- Seaside SparrowAmmodramus maritimus
- Wilson's PloverCharadrius wilsonia
Plants 84
- Beach Morning-gloryIpomoea imperati
- Southern Seaside SpurgeEuphorbia bombensis
- Mound-lily YuccaYucca gloriosa
- Northern Seabeach OrachAtriplex mucronata
- Dune Marsh-elderIva imbricata
- Pinewoods FingergrassEustachys petraea
- Sea OatsUniola paniculata
- Beach Evening-primroseOenothera drummondii
- Saltwater False-willowBaccharis angustifolia
- Gulf CrotonCroton punctatus
- CamphorweedHeterotheca subaxillaris
- Cottony Golden-asterChrysopsis gossypina
Prairies and grasslands
Birds 69
- Grasshopper SparrowAmmodramus savannarum
- Scissor-tailed FlycatcherTyrannus forficatus
- Sprague's PipitAnthus spragueii
- DickcisselSpiza americana
- Western MeadowlarkSturnella neglecta
- Black-bellied PloverPluvialis squatarola
- Cackling GooseBranta hutchinsii
- House FinchCarpodacus mexicanus
- KilldeerCharadrius vociferus
- Lark SparrowChondestes grammacus
- Long-billed CurlewNumenius americanus
- Ring-necked PheasantPhasianus colchicus
Plants 160
- Rydbergs Blazing StarLiatris hirsuta
- Rough Blazing-starLiatris aspera
- Manyflower Marsh-pennywortHydrocotyle umbellata
- Barrens Silky AsterSymphyotrichum pratense
- Twistleaf GoldenrodSolidago tortifolia
- Carolina ThistleCirsium carolinianum
- Lindheimer's BeeblossomGaura lindheimeri
- Pink Evening-primroseOenothera speciosa
- Showy Evening-primroseOenothera grandis
- White Prairie CloverDalea candida
- Prairie-tea CrotonCroton monanthogynus
- Gulf CrotonCroton punctatus
Sources
- USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models (2001)
- USGS GAP winter habitat model for Horned Lark
- USGS Gap Analysis Project range maps (2001), modeled by watershed; migratory gives no dates
- NatureServe Explorer (CC BY 4.0), habitat names
- US Census TIGER/Line counties
- Names follow the USGS Gap Analysis Project (2001)
- Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab) (CC0 1.0), diet records by plant genus








































































