BOTW 12/6 - 12/10
Please take my survey!
Hello all! Before I reveal the BOTW, I want to float a potential idea for a *spin-off* newsletter from BOTW. Since its inception, BOTW has gone from one (shoutout CG) to hundreds of subscribers. It’s awesome!
I have no intention to stop writing BOTW anytime soon, but I am considering starting a brand-new newsletter. This new newsletter would go more into depth about some of the great stories in the bird world (there are a lot, I promise).
Potential topics would include: bird feather thieves, extinct bird profiles, the wives of ornithologists, crazy smart birds, birds v. planes, birds v. trash cans, and much, much more! The newsletter would be more long-form and would most likely come out every 1-2 weeks.
Sound interesting? If so, I would really appreciate if you would take a short, anonymous survey. I swear, it’ll take you 30 seconds. Click → here
Ok! Back to BOTW
This week’s bird is the: Horned Lark
1) Yes. This bird actually has horns. Well, feather horns, but still cool!
2) We only have one lark species in North America, and this is it. There are 98 other larks around the world, try to collect them all!
3) In popular culture, larks are considered the true early birds, announcing the arrival of the new day. These birds are no exception, starting their singing ~2 hours before the sun rises!
4) No matter where you live, you probably have a very good shot at finding these birds. They are widely distributed across North America, as well as much of Europe and Asia! In the Old World, these birds are called Shorelarks. A much cooler name in my opinion. Most birds have lots of “common names,” usually originating from long in the past. Not to mention all the non-english common names. This bird’s danish name for instance is the Bjerglærke. Pretty rad.
5) Researchers recently found a 46,000 year-old Horned Lark in the Siberian permafrost.
Have a great week!