BREEDING BIRDS: WESTERN MEADOWLARK

WESTERN MEADOWLARK

(Sturnella neglecta)

Description: Black V-shaped breast band on yellow underparts; upperparts are dark, with dusky edges.

Habitat: Usually found in cultivated fields, grassland, savanna and pastures.

Diet: Includes sowbugs, snails, seeds and some spiders.

Displays: Male courts female by jumping up and displaying the bright yellow and black markings of its breast; female occasionally responds with similar display but remains on ground.

Nest: Coarse grass lined with finer grass or hair; domed canopy of grass, bark interwoven with surrounding vegetation with opening on one side.

Eggs: White marked with browns or purples.

Natural history notes: The Western Meadowlark’s distinctive call is a low, throaty, explosive chuck; it also gives a rattling flight call. Song is a variable series of bubbling, flute-like notes, accelerating toward the end.

Breeding bird atlas: To report bird breeding activity in your neighborhood, or to get information on the breeding bird atlas (now in its fifth and final year), call Sea and Sage Audubon Society members Sylvia Gallagher, (714) 962-8990, or Nancy Kenyon, (714) 786-3160.

Note: Map is divided into 5-kilometer squares so that Audubon Society volunteers can more easily survey areas on a regular basis.

Sources: Sea and Sage Audubon Society; “The Birder’s Handbook,” Ehrlich, Dobkin and Wheye, Fireside Books (1988); “Field Guide to the Birds of North America,” National Geographic Society (1987); “Birds of Southern California: Status and Distribution,” Garrett and Dunn, Los Angeles Audubon Society (1981).

Indicates 5-kilometer-square areas where breeding activity has been confirmed.