Western meadowlark, the state bird of Kansas

How to recognize it

The western meadowlark is about the size of a robin but stockier, with a short tail and a long, pointed bill. Its throat and breast are bright yellow, crossed by a bold black V like a necklace. In fall the V is partly hidden by paler feather tips. Its back is streaked brown, black and buff, which camouflages it in grass, and white outer tail feathers flash when it takes off or lands.

The song is the best way to identify it. The western meadowlark sings a rich, flute-like run of gurgling notes that usually drops in pitch, from fence posts and treetops across the prairie. Its call is a low chook. The eastern meadowlark, which also lives in eastern Kansas, looks almost the same but sings simpler, plaintive whistles.

How it lives

Meadowlarks are birds of open grassland: prairie, pasture, meadows and farm fields. The western meadowlark prefers shorter, drier grass than its eastern cousin. In summer it eats mostly insects, such as beetles, grasshoppers and crickets, probing the ground with its bill. Seeds make up about a third of its diet over the year, mainly in fall and winter.

Males sing to hold their territories, and some have more than one mate. The female builds a domed grass nest on the ground, often reached by a little tunnel through the grass, and lays three to seven eggs.

Where to see one in Kansas

The Kansas Historical Society says meadowlarks are often seen from the road across Kansas, perched on fence posts and tree limbs. Look and listen in open prairie and pasture, especially in spring and early summer, when males are singing. They migrate late in the fall and return early in spring, and some spend the winter in stubble fields.

Common, but declining

The western meadowlark is still widespread and common, with an estimated population of about 100 million, and the IUCN rates it as least concern. Surveys show it has declined in recent decades, as grassland has been lost.

Chosen by schoolchildren

In 1925 the Kansas Audubon Society held an election among the state’s schoolchildren for a state bird. The western meadowlark won with nearly 125,000 votes, ahead of the bobwhite and the northern cardinal; the Kansas Historical Society puts the number of students who took part at more than 121,000. The legislature made it official in 1937, and the law, now K.S.A. 73-901, says the bird was chosen because the schoolchildren preferred it. Five other states, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon and Wyoming, have the same state bird.