{"id":45436,"date":"2017-03-10T06:31:18","date_gmt":"2017-03-10T13:31:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=45436"},"modified":"2026-01-08T14:02:51","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T20:02:51","slug":"male-horned-lark-territorial-behaviors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/03\/10\/male-horned-lark-territorial-behaviors\/","title":{"rendered":"Male Horned Lark Territorial Behaviors – Tit-for-tat Chases"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MaleMale Horned Lark territorial behavior – Nikon D500, f8, 1\/1250, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Yesterday I spent the morning photographing birds on Antelope Island State Park<\/span><\/a>, it was mostly sunny and windless and there was more bird activity on the island than I have seen in a while.<\/p>\n

The most interesting activities I saw yesterday were territorial behaviors and chases between two male Horned Larks in an open area of the park.<\/p>\n

When I first spotted the males they were involved in an aerial fight and when they landed and I was close enough to photograph them they began to chase each other.<\/p>\n

Sometimes Horned Larks simply chase the intruding males out of their territory and at times it is a “tit-for-tat” chase where they chase each other back and forth over the territorial boundary.<\/p>\n

\"TerritorialTerritorial male Horned Lark simulating feeding – Nikon D500, f8, 1\/1250, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The male Horned Larks I saw and photographed yesterday seemed to be involved in the tit-for-tat chase because one would chase the other for a bit and then the roles would reverse.<\/p>\n

Literature also mentions that both males will stop and feed or simulate feeding during these chases and I observed that both of these males would stop and appear to look for food but I never saw either one feed on anything.<\/p>\n

This male kicked up some sand with its bill while simulating feeding.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale Horned Lark watching another male – Nikon D500, f8, 1\/1250, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Both males spent time watching the other male when they would briefly stop chasing each other.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale Horned Lark during a territorial chase – Nikon D500, f8, 1\/1000, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I photographed these two male Horned Larks for about three minutes before a large shadow of a bird scared them off. That bird might have been a Prairie Falcon I had seen perched on a post just before I saw the larks.<\/p>\n

\"FemaleFemale Horned Lark on a small knoll – Nikon D810, f6.3, 1\/3200, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Of all the Horned Larks I saw yesterday I only saw one female not far from the two males that were chasing each other. My view of her was obstructed by grasses so I was somewhat disappointed that I wasn’t able to photograph her.<\/p>\n

I am including an image of a female I photographed last year in roughly the same area of the park to show the differences in gender. The females are slightly duller in appearance and their “horns” are less visible.<\/p>\n

An interesting behavior I saw with these two males and another pair of males was that one of the males would droop their wings and then vibrate one wing.<\/p>\n

I have not seen this behavior in Horned Larks before and I am unable to find any literature on it. It was fascinating to see even though I don’t know what the behavior was about.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Horned Lark photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The most interesting activities I saw yesterday were territorial behaviors and chases between two male Horned Larks in an open area of the park. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":166611,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[511,27,1022,436,26],"tags":[4226,4073,4284,4181,4070,1327,6433,2136,4062,5709,5245,5418,5708],"class_list":["post-45436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-horned-larks","category-utah","tag-behavior","tag-breeding-season","tag-chase","tag-eremophila-alpestris","tag-female","tag-horned-lark","tag-lark","tag-larks-2","tag-male","tag-simulated-feeding-behavior","tag-territorial","tag-territorial-behavior","tag-tit-for-tat-chase"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-territorial-mia-mcpherson-2371.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-bOQ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":83199,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/04\/03\/male-horned-lark\/","url_meta":{"origin":45436,"position":0},"title":"Male Horned Lark","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 3, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Two days ago while on Antelope Island I photographed a male Horned Lark that seemed to have a big attitude which was really about him defending his territory.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Horned Lark at the edge of a road, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/horned-lark-male-adult-mia-mcpherson-2141.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/horned-lark-male-adult-mia-mcpherson-2141.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/horned-lark-male-adult-mia-mcpherson-2141.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/horned-lark-male-adult-mia-mcpherson-2141.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4458,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/02\/21\/horned-lark-eating-sunflower-seeds\/","url_meta":{"origin":45436,"position":1},"title":"Horned Lark Eating Sunflower Seeds","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 21, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday I was delighted to be able to photograph this male Horned Lark perched high on dried sunflower seed heads as it ate.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Horned Lark eating sunflower seeds, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-eating-mia-mcpherson-4600.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-eating-mia-mcpherson-4600.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-eating-mia-mcpherson-4600.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-eating-mia-mcpherson-4600.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":166438,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2026\/01\/06\/horned-lark-meet-the-2026-aba-bird-of-the-year\/","url_meta":{"origin":45436,"position":2},"title":"Horned Lark – Meet The 2026 ABA Bird Of The Year","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 6, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Meet the Horned Lark, chosen by the American Birding Association as the 2026 ABA Bird of the Year. A bold pick, and honestly a great one.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Early spring Horned Lark male on Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-adult-mia-mcpherson-2132.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-adult-mia-mcpherson-2132.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-adult-mia-mcpherson-2132.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-adult-mia-mcpherson-2132.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9682,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/10\/02\/autumn-horned-lark\/","url_meta":{"origin":45436,"position":3},"title":"Autumn Horned Lark","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Summer has changed to autumn and the behaviors of the Horned Larks that have been seen through the summer but have been difficult to get close to.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Horned Lark with an itch. Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/hordned-lark-scratching-mia-mcpherson-7927.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/hordned-lark-scratching-mia-mcpherson-7927.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/hordned-lark-scratching-mia-mcpherson-7927.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/hordned-lark-scratching-mia-mcpherson-7927.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":56883,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/03\/27\/singing-male-horned-lark-close-up-on-antelope-island\/","url_meta":{"origin":45436,"position":4},"title":"Singing Male Horned Lark Close Up On Antelope Island","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 27, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"This singing male Horned Lark was close enough to me that I could take portraits of him while he sang two days ago and I believe the reason he was so close was that his urge to find a mate overcame his natural wariness.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Singing male Horned Lark close up, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-close-up-singing-mia-mcpherson-3884.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-close-up-singing-mia-mcpherson-3884.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-close-up-singing-mia-mcpherson-3884.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-close-up-singing-mia-mcpherson-3884.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":35643,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/02\/17\/a-female-horned-lark-on-a-february-morning\/","url_meta":{"origin":45436,"position":5},"title":"Female Horned Lark on a February morning","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 17, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday I took a few images of a Horned Lark male singing on Antelope Island State Park and it reminded me that I hadn't posted this image of a female Horned Lark that I photographed last year.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Horned Lark on a February morning on Antelope Island State Park, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/horned-lark-female-mia-mcpherson-1021.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/horned-lark-female-mia-mcpherson-1021.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/horned-lark-female-mia-mcpherson-1021.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/horned-lark-female-mia-mcpherson-1021.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45436\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/166611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}