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Larks
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Length: 8.5 inches
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Sharply-pointed bill
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Buff and brown head stripes
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Yellow underparts with black "v" on breast
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White flanks with black streaks
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Brown upperparts with black streaks
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Brown tail with white outer tail feathers
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Juvenile and winter plumages somewhat duller
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Frequents open habitats
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The male meadowlarks arrive at their breeding grounds a couple of weeks
before the females. They like to perch on fences, poles and wires
to claim and guard their territory. A male's home range is usually
about six or seven acres. If another male invades his territory, he
may get into a fight with the intruder. Fighting meadowlarks will
lock their feet together and peck at each other with their beaks.
The western meadowlark uses its distinctive song and call to claim
territory. The meadowlark's diet is mostly insects like caterpillars
and grasshoppers, although it will sometimes eat seeds. The western
meadowlark is a short-distance migrator. Its breeding range stretches
from British Columbia, northern Michigan, and northwestern Ohio south
to Missouri, central Texas and northern Mexico. The male meadow lark
uses display behaviors to attract a mate. When he finds a female that
he wants to mate with, he points his bill in the air, puffs out his
yellow throat and flaps his wings above his heads. If that doesn't
get the female's attention, he hops up and down. The western meadowlark
builds its nest on the ground. The female finds a depression in the
ground, and shapes it by digging in the dirt with her bill. She lines
the depression with soft grass and makes a roof by pulling grass and
plants over the depression. She then weaves in grass to make a waterproof
dome, leaving enough space for an opening. The female lays between
three and seven eggs. It takes about 12 days for the eggs to hatch.
The meadowlark usually has two broods a year. The male protects the
nest by noisily chasing intruders away. |
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| Bird rescue & bird adoption;
parrot refuge/rescue & placement for unwanted birds. |
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| Check out our list of local
birds broken down by your state and different types of
species. |
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| Migrating birds stay on track
because of chemical reactions in their bodies that are
influenced by the Earth's magnetic field... |
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Part
I
November
19, 2004