Meadowlark

Description:

Eastern and Western Meadowlarks are notoriously difficult to distinguish in the Midwest and South where their ranges overlap. Song is the most reliable difference, with Eastern Meadowlark songs simpler and higher-pitched while Westerns are a more complex series of whistles, warbles, and gurgles. In winter, when males aren’t singing, look at habitat and behavior: Western Meadowlarks feed in flocks in sparse vegetation or bare ground. The two species look only subtly different: Western Meadowlarks have paler head stripes and a mostly yellow, not white, malar stripe (from the base of the bill onto the lower cheek). They also show slightly less white in the tail, and whitish rather than buffy flanks.

Habitat:

Riparian meadow