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. == Taxonomy == The horned lark was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Alauda alpestris. Linnaeus based his account on the description and illustration by the English naturalist Mark Catesby in his book The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands that was published between 1729 and 1732. Linnaeus specified the type locality as North America but this has been restricted to the coastal areas of South Carolina. The horned lark is now placed together with Temminck's lark in the genus Eremophila that was introduced in 1828 by the German naturalist Friedrich Boie. The specific epithet alpestris is Latin meaning "of the high mountains", from Alpes, the Alps. A molecular genetic study of the Alaudidae published in 2023 found that Temminck's lark (Eremophila…
Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park
Trøndelag, Norway
+81 birds+12 mammals
Where alpine plateaus meet ancient mountain ranges, a vast wilderness of windswept ridges and deep valleys unfolds across central Norway. […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKLower Saxon Wadden Sea National Park
Dunum, Germany
+124 birds+28 mammals
Tidal mud flats stretch to the horizon where the North Sea exhales and inhales twice daily, sculpting one of Europe’s […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKHamburgisches Wattenmeer National Park
Hamburg, Germany
+134 birds+21 mammals
Where the Elbe River surrenders to the North Sea, a vast tapestry of mud flats, salt marshes, and shallow tidal […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKSchleswig-Holsteinisches Wattenmeer National Park
Germany
+130 birds+21 mammals
Twice daily, the North Sea withdraws from an immense stage of mud, sand, and salt marsh, revealing one of Europe’s […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKSagarmatha National Park
Khumjung, Nepal
+119 birds+16 mammals
Where granite peaks claw skyward through clouds and glacier-fed torrents carve through rhododendron forests, the Himalayan wilderness reveals its most […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKKhangchendzonga National Park
Sakkyong, India
+132 birds+30 mammals
Where the Eastern Himalayas rise in their most dramatic splendour, alpine meadows give way to ancient temperate forests cloaked in […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKSirmilik National Park
Qikiqtaaluk Region, Canada
+34 birds+5 mammals
Where the Canadian Arctic archipelago fractures into fjords and limestone cliffs, one of Earth’s most pristine marine ecosystems unfolds across […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKJasper National Park
Improvement District No. 12, Canada
+127 birds+32 mammals
Where the Canadian Rockies erupt into a wilderness of turquoise glacial lakes and precipitous valleys, nearly 11,000 square kilometres of […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKCanyonlands National Park
Wayne County, United States
+62 birds+19 mammals
Where the Colorado River carves through rust-red sandstone, a labyrinth of mesas, buttes, and deep canyons rises across southeastern Utah’s […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKTheodore Roosevelt National Park
Billings County, United States
+92 birds+18 mammals
Where the Little Missouri River carves through the North Dakota badlands, a landscape of rust-colored buttes, golden grasslands, and deep […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKJoshua Tree National Park
Riverside County, United States
+123 birds+29 mammals
Where two vast deserts collide, twisted rock formations pierce a sky of startling clarity. Spanning over 5,600 square kilometres of […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKArches National Park
Grand County, United States
+61 birds+29 mammals
Towering fins of rust-red Entrada sandstone pierce the Colorado Plateau like the ribs of some ancient leviathan, creating a landscape […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKGreat Sand Dunes National Park
Saguache County, United States
+91 birds
Where the Rocky Mountain front meets the San Luis Valley, towering walls of sand rise improbably from the Colorado high […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKDenali National Park
Denali Borough, United States
+102 birds+22 mammals
Where subarctic wilderness sprawls across nearly 31,000 square kilometres of interior Alaska, six million acres of raw, untrammelled landscape define […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKYellowstone National Park
Park County, United States
+120 birds+31 mammals
Geothermal plumes rise from an alien landscape where boiling springs feed crystalline pools and geysers erupt with clockwork precision across […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKMount Rainier National Park
Pierce County, United States
+105 birds+27 mammals
Where volcanic slopes rise dramatically from temperate rainforest to alpine tundra, a landscape of raw geological power unfolds across 1,322 […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKCrater Lake National Park
Klamath County, United States
+78 birds+21 mammals
Where the Cascade Range’s volcanic heart fractured 7,700 years ago, a mirror of impossible blue now reflects alpine wilderness at […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKRocky Mountain National Park
Larimer County, United States
+121 birds+31 mammals
Where granite peaks pierce the Colorado sky above 12,000 feet, alpine tundra sprawls across windswept plateaus alongside dense subalpine forests […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKDeath Valley National Park
Inyo County, United States
+130 birds+29 mammals
Where scorched salt flats stretch beneath some of Earth’s most punishing skies, a landscape of extremes unfolds across 30,012 square […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKOlympic National Park
Jefferson County, United States
+122 birds+29 mammals
Where temperate rainforest meets alpine meadow and windswept coastline, a remarkable wilderness unfolds across Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. This 10,765-square-kilometre sanctuary […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKNahanni National Park
Dehcho Region, Canada
+24 birds+14 mammals
Where granite gorges slice through the remote wilderness of Canada’s northwest territories, a landscape of superlative drama unfolds across nearly […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKGros Morne National Park
Canada
+128 birds+19 mammals
Where granite peaks rise dramatically above fjord-carved valleys, one of Canada’s most geologically spectacular wilderness areas commands nearly 4,000 square […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKKouchibouguac National Park of Canada
Carleton Parish, Canada
+114 birds+16 mammals
Salt marshes melting into Acadian forest meet the Bay of Fundy’s restless tides along New Brunswick’s hidden gem. This 591-square-kilometre […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKForillon National Park
Gaspé, Canada
+131 birds+11 mammals
Where the Gaspé Peninsula meets the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, rugged cliffs plunge into churning Atlantic waters, sculpting a dramatic […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKRacha-Lechkhum-Kvemo Svaneti Planned National Park
Zeskho, Georgia
+91 birds+11 mammals
Where granite gorges cut through the southern Caucasus, pristine alpine meadows cascade downward into temperate beech forests of extraordinary primeval […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKZemo Svaneti Planned National Park
Hamashi-Totoleshi, Georgia
+107 birds+8 mammals
Where granite peaks pierce the clouds above the Caucasus, sweeping alpine meadows give way to pristine beech and spruce forests […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKJavakheti National Park
Bozali, Georgia
+148 birds+6 mammals
Dawn breaks over a high-altitude plateau where volcanic peaks pierce the Caucasian sky, their slopes cloaked in alpine meadows that […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKVaranger National Park
Båtsfjord, Norway
+70 birds+13 mammals
Where the Arctic tundra meets the Barents Sea, vast plateaus of birch woodland and dwarf shrub heath roll across northeastern […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKValdaysky National Park
Валдайский муниципальный округ, Russia
+122 birds+13 mammals
Where glacial lakes pierce a landscape of boreal forest and ancient hills, Russia’s Valdai region unfolds as one of Eastern […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKBaikal National Park
Ольхонский район, Russia
+124 birds+27 mammals
Where ancient mountains plunge into Earth’s deepest freshwater lake, a landscape of dramatic contrasts unfolds across the southern shores of […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKNanda Devi National Park
Garpak, India
+114 birds+11 mammals
Where the Himalayas surge into their most dramatic alpine amphitheater, a wilderness of raw geological power unfolds across 624 square […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKHemis National Park
Raigahar Dhar, India
+128 birds+20 mammals
Where granite gorges cleave through the Himalayas at dizzying altitudes, a vast wilderness of alpine desert unfolds across the rain […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKEl Vizcaíno
Laguna San Ignacio, Mexico
+101 birds+15 mammals
Where the Baja California peninsula thins into a tapestry of salt lagoons and coastal desert, one of Mexico’s most biodiverse […]
VIEW BIOSPHERE RESERVETombstone Territorial Park
Dawson City, Canada
+86 birds+17 mammals
Where granite peaks pierce the Yukon sky and tundra stretches endlessly toward the Arctic horizon, the Tombstone Range commands attention […]
VIEW NATURE RESERVEGorkhi-Terelj National Park
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
+92 birds+17 mammals
Granite peaks thrust skyward across rolling steppe where ancient rivers have carved deep gorges through Mongolia’s heartland. This 295,400-hectare wilderness […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKAltai Tavan Bogd National Park
Tsengel, Mongolia
+25 birds+3 mammals
Where granite peaks thrust above 4,000 metres and alpine tundra stretches endlessly beneath crystalline skies, Mongolia’s wildest frontier reveals itself […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKHustai National Park
Altanbulag, Mongolia
+47 birds+20 mammals
Where rolling steppe gives way to steep ravines and saxaul-dotted slopes, one of Mongolia’s most improbable conservation triumphs unfolds across […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKGobi Gurvan Saikhan National Park
Tsagaan Subarga Hural, Mongolia
+36 birds+3 mammals
Where granite gorges slice through rust-colored desert and mountains rise like weathered sentinels across the Gobi’s vast expanse, an extraordinary […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKOlympos National Park
Pieria Regional Unit, Greece
+133 birds+17 mammals
Where the Thessalian plains meet the Mediterranean, granite peaks thrust skyward in defiant majesty, their slopes cloaked in a mosaic […]
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