jenniferblack's Favorites

Juvenile Horned Lark resting in the medium tall dried grass 10 ft off the trail. Link to another juvenile lark observation nearby: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/164262673

Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris) is a small, grassland bird in the Larks (Alaudidae) family. Juvenile Horned Larks have small white spots on the head and back. It is a "squat-looking bird with short legs and low-profile body. Adults are mostly sandy-brown with white belly, sometimes with blurry streaks on sides of breast. Look for bold head pattern, especially black mask and chest band. Throat color varies from yellow to white. Namesake horns on head are sometimes visible at close range. Juveniles can be confusing; they are messy-looking, grayish-brown with bold white spots and scallops on the upperparts. Note bill shape to help separate from sparrows or longspurs. Widespread in open habitats throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Typically seen in flocks, sometimes mixed in with other open-ground songbirds, running along the ground in open areas with little to no vegetation."

Ebird with species description, range map and sound recordings: https://ebird.org/species/horlar/

Audubon Guide to North American Birds https://www.audubon.org/bird-guide and https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/horned-lark

Xeno-canto Bird songs, sound recordings, and species range map: https://xeno-canto.org/species/Eremophila-alpestris

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of Western North America, ed. Jon L. Dunn, 2008, pp. 286-287.

Monterey Birds, Don Roberson, 2nd ed. 2002, sponsored by Monterey Peninsula Audubon Society, pp. 342-343.

The Cornell Lab (Birds in U.S. and Canada) https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/ (enter common name)

Merlin Bird ID (great app available for Iphones) by The Cornell Lab (Bird ID help for 8,500+ species) https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/

Comprehensive Feather I.D. tools and more: https://foundfeathers.org/resources/

Found Feathers (Worldwide): https://www.fws.gov/lab/featheratlas/idtool.php

There’s at least five but we think a full litter of these young kittens running around. The neighbours know about them and say they are strays.

Update: we have started feeding them after learning that past people to stay in the house also did.