Female Male Western Meadowlark | Slide Mouse

They sometimes sing from the ground.

Female male western meadowlark. Male and female plumage similar. Bright yellow throat and belly with a prominent black v on the breast. The sweet lazy whistles of eastern meadowlarks waft over summer grasslands and farms in eastern north america. Look and listen for these stout ground feeders in.

Three days ago while out on antelope island state park under cloudy skies i was able to observe a glimpse into the mating behaviors of a pair of western meadowlarks. The western meadowlark sturnella neglecta is a medium sized icterid bird about 8 5 in 22 cm in length. Placed on the ground in areas with dense cover of grass in a small hollow or depression in ground. On the ground their brown and black dappled upperparts camouflage the birds among dirt clods and dry grasses.

A whistled introduction followed by several gurgling notes. This colorful member of the blackbird family flashes a vibrant yellow breast crossed by a distinctive black v shaped band. Meadowlarks are often more easily heard than seen unless you spot a male singing from a fence post. Male sings to defend nesting territory.

In courtship male faces female puffs out chest feathers and points bill straight up to show off black v spreads tail widely and flicks wings. Male western meadowlark on a tall sagebrush nikon d500 f7 1 1 1600 iso 800 nikkor 500mm vr with 1 4x tc natural light. The male western meadowlark s melodious song has two parts. It nests on the ground in open grasslands across western and central north america.

The buoyant flutelike melody of the western meadowlark ringing out across a field can brighten anyone s day. The birds sing sporadically in winter. The eastern meadowlark is extremely similar and sometimes not separable. Creamy eye stripe and yellow lores.

Cryptically colored on back wings and tail so they blend in with a weedy grassy habitat. The southwestern form of eastern meadowlark known as the lilian s is even more similar to the western than the. When i first started to photograph the meadowlark above i wasn t aware that it was a male but that. Western meadowlarks sing mainly from exposed perches such as utility wires fences trees and shrubs.

The birds themselves sing from fenceposts and telephone lines or stalk through the grasses probing the ground for insects with their long sharp bills. Western meadowlark pictures images and stock photos browse 234 western meadowlark stock photos and images available or search for kansas or cottonwood tree to find more great stock photos and pictures.