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THE WESTERN MEADOWLARK
“Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming: … An American ictaroid bird (genus Sturnella) the bird commonly known as the Meadow Lark, is hereby made and declared to be the State bird of the State of Wyoming
PINE BLUFFS — With that, Wyoming’s Legislature sent to Governor Frank Emerson in February 1927, a bill making the western meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) Wyoming’s State bird.
The western meadowlark is nine inches long, has a brown and black back and wings, a golden chest with a black v-shaped mark on its neck, and a long pointed bill.2
Both eastern and western meadowlarks inhabit North America. They’re members of the blackbird family. The western meadowlark exists in meadows and fields from the Pacific coast to the Great Plains. East of the Great Plains the eastern meadowlark predominates although recently the western extended its summer range into the Great Lakes region and the Ohio Valley.3
First Spotted By Meriwether Lewis
In June 1805, Meriwether Lewis of Lewis & Clark fame noted in his journal the appearance of a lark with a yellow breast and black spot on the throat, resembling in size, action and color the eastern lark, but its song was richer and more varied.4 Its cheerful sound, consisting of a loud, clear warbling whistle, descending in scale, endeared it to many people. It’s the state bird of Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota and Oregon, as well as Wyoming.5
In the spring, the feisty male arrives several weeks before the female. He’ll perch on a fencepost and sing to establish his territory, which may vary from three to fifteen acres.
Nesting and Feeding
Ground nesters, meadowlarks weave dried grasses into a bowl shape within a larger grass clump for shelter and camouflage. Females have two clutches annually, each consisting of approximately five white eggs with brown and lavender spots concentrated at the wider end. Incubation takes six weeks. The young have black spots on their breasts but don’t develop the distinctive black “v” until the fall molt. Nesting and brood-rearing are done by the female. The male may help feed the young, but mostly this cheerful fellow simply perches nearby, serenading his new family.
Meadowlarks eat insects, spiders and other small invertebrates. In winter, they’ll form flocks of a few hundred and forage in fields for seeds, which comprise the bulk of their diet.6
One peculiar thing: meadowlark nests are sometimes invaded by Brown-headed Cowbirds. Both ground-nesting and tree-nesting birds may find cowbird’s unwanted eggs in their clutches. Some remove them. Others abandon the nest and build a new one. Still others raise the baby cowbirds as if they were their own.7
When you see cattle or horses in a grassy field, you’re in meadowlark habitat. Watch nearby fence posts. Soon you’ll spot a male perched on his favorite bragging post, where he’ll spend hours dueling other meadowlarks in song; a sound beautiful to human ears.
[1] Laws of
2 Nature Works, http://www.nhptv.org/naturworks/westmeadowlark.htm
3 Western Meadowlark, http://www.gpnc.org/western.htm
4 State Bird (Western Meadowlark). http://www.montanakids.com
5 Frequently Asked Questions, Wyoming Game & Fish, http://gf.state.wy.us
6 Western Meadowlark, http://www.gpnc.org/western.htm
7 Ibid, p.2