Horned Lark is having a moment: Ground-hugger featured on cover of two birding magazines

There are roughly 750 kinds of birds in the United States. So, what are the chances that one of them, Horned Lark, would grace the covers of two major birding magazines this month? Not only that, each cover — Birding and BWD (formerly Bird Watcher’s Digest) — features a painting, not a photograph, of foraging larks in the snow. One species, two artists, two magazines, same month.

Birding can be a little slow this time of year so I’m probably way too excited about such an unlikely occurrence in ornithological publishing. That said, I’m gaining a new appreciation for Horned Lark, a ground-hugger on view now in farmland throughout the Midwest.

Take a drive in the country and larks should not be hard to find. Watch for small and sometimes large flocks on roadsides and bare agricultural fields. In winter, they often congregate with Lapland Longspurs and Snow Buntings.

I will not offer a full Horned Lark profile here — the two magazines have that covered. But I must put in that the bird does not have horns. It shows little feather tufts that look like horns, a trait it shares with the Great Horned Owl on a tiny scale.

Birding is the flagship publication of the American Birding Association (aba.org). Horned Lark is on its cover because it is ABA’s 2026 Bird of the Year. A new species is announced every January, a fun tradition that began in 2011. Last year’s avian celebrity was Common Loon, a highly popular choice.

The honor of creating the Bird of the Year cover went to Kristina Knowski, an artist I’ve mentioned before. She is the longtime artist-in-residence at the Indiana Dunes Birding Festival, designing that event’s much-anticipated annual poster and supporting illustrations.

Kristina is a Hoosier now, living in Porter, but I remember when she and her mom Sue attended Cantigny Park bird walks in Wheaton. At the time, about 15 years ago, I had no idea she was looking at the birds with an artistic eye and probably thinking more about feather structures and postures than where the turkeys were hiding. Her work is beautiful (kristinaknowski.com).

The BWD cover, painted by Alex Warnick, also depicts Horned Lark, the issue’s feature species. It’s a good read about a common species I’m happy to know better.

Two other articles in BWD caught my eye. One is about the Spark Bird Project, a community science survey launched by Jenn Lodi-Smith, a birder and psychologist based in Buffalo. The project is collecting stories about how people get hooked on birds and birding. It’s not a trivial thing — the information gathered can lead to ideas for bringing even more people into the growing hobby.

Hundreds of stories about “spark moments” have been submitted so far. Want to tell yours? Go to spark-bird.org/stories. Check out the Spark Bird Podcast, too!

Author and birding personality Pete Dunne contributes the “Pete’s Tip” column in BWD and I never miss it. His latest is about another listing game we can play as birders. “Month listing,” Dunne writes, is “challenging, engaging, and rewarding,” and it motivates us to get outside throughout the year.

Simply start a list of all the birds you see or hear each month, keeping 12 separate lists. Every new species counts on a month list, even if you’ve seen it before. Dunne cites Great Blue Heron as an example — easy to find in July, but can you spot one in February?

Month listing can improve your awareness of birding’s seasonality, too. Knowing what to expect and look for at different times of the year is useful.

At home, I always keep a year list. It’s like doing a Big Year but just in the yard. My best was 88 species in 2007. Eighty or more is good for me. Like most endeavors, the more time devoted the better the results.

Last year I mentioned a goal of seeing 25 different birds in my yard between New Year’s Day and the first day of spring. I failed miserably, reaching only 18, but I’m trying again. It seems possible if I pay better attention. Four Pine Siskins stopped by on Jan. 11, a welcome surprise considering I hadn’t logged a siskin at my feeders since 2021.

My late-winter travel plans include the 30th Annual San Diego Bird Festival. I’m especially juiced about a guided pre-festival tour with Red Hill Birding, a Chicago-based company. Our group of 12 will be scouring greater Los Angeles for regional specialties like Allen’s Hummingbird, Island Scrub-Jay and Yellow-billed Magpie. I’ll report back!

• Jeff Reiter’s column appears regularly in Neighbor. You can reach him via his blog, Words on Birds.