Horned Larks (Eremophila alpestris) nesting in the Coastal Plain of Alabama
Horned Larks (Eremophila alpestris) expanded their range into Alabama during the first half of the 20th century as part of a southern expansion that brought breeding Horned Larks to Kentucky between 1910 and 1920 (Beason 1995). Imhof (1976) described Horned Larks as breeding locally in the Tennessee Valley and the eastern portion of the Mountain Region, but listed no summer records in Alabama south of Birmingham. Beason (1995) reports no breeding in the coastal or coastal plain regions of any of the southeastern states except Louisiana, where they apparently are found in the flood plain of the Mississippi River. Griffin (1951) first documented breeding in north Georgia in April 1950. In June 1991, Patterson (1991) found indications that Homed Larks were probably breeding in Dublin, which is in Georgia’s coastal plain. Six years later, Chandler et al. (1997) first documented breeding Horned Larks at a sod farm in Georgia’s coastal plain in Bulloch County. The objective of this note is to document breeding at a sod farm in the coastal plain of Alabama, at approximately the same latitude as Dublin and Bulloch counties, Georgia.
Author: Patricia L. Johnson and Lawrence F. Gardella
Volume Number: 45 Year Published: 1999
Issue Number: 2
Page Number: 17
Link to article: http://birdlife.aosbirds.org/1999/Vol 45 No 2 1999_17-20.pdf
Link to the full issue of BirdLife: http://birdlife.aosbirds.org/1999/Vol 45 No 2 1999.pdf