Western Meadowlark Female | Slide Mouse
This colorful member of the blackbird family flashes a vibrant yellow breast crossed by a distinctive black v shaped band.
Western meadowlark female. The young birds leave the nest 10 12 days after hatching. Wolfe repass macaulay library colorado may 07 2017. The southwestern form of eastern meadowlark known as the lilian s is even more similar to the western than the. Female yellow headed blackbirds have more yellow on the head and a much darker body than western meadowlarks.
Brown headed cowbirds molothrus ater parasitize western meadowlark nests at rates as high as 22. The female western meadowlark takes up to a week to build her nest and then lines it with soft grasses or weeds. Western meadowlark adults have yellow underparts with a black v on the breast and white flanks streaked with black. But then the second western meadowlark flew of slightly to the south and began walking around on the ground under some low sagebrushes and out into the grasses.
The buoyant flutelike melody of the western meadowlark ringing out across a field can brighten anyone s day. 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. Remarkably similar to the eastern meadowlark in colors and pattern this bird is recognized by its very different song and callnotes. Their upper parts are mostly brown but also have black streaks.
Meadowlarks are often more easily heard than seen unless you spot a male singing from a fence post. These birds have long pointed bills and their heads are striped with light brown and black bands. The western meadowlark s nest and eggs are indistinguishable from those of eastern meadowlark. Even where their ranges overlap in the midwest and southwest they almost never interbreed.
Once the eggs hatch the young birds will remain with the female for up to 12 days when they are strong enough to leave the nest. Look and listen for these stout ground feeders in. The eastern meadowlark is extremely similar and sometimes not separable. They lack the western meadowlark s streaky back.
However the two species do seem to see each other as potential rivals and. The two species of meadowlarks evidently can easily recognize their own kind the same way.