Western meadowlark, the state bird of Oregon

How to recognize it

The western meadowlark is robin-sized, about 7.5 to 10 inches long, and males and females look alike. Its underparts are bright yellow, crossed by a bold black V on the breast that is partly hidden in fall, and its upperparts are streaked brown and tan for camouflage. White outer tail feathers flash when it takes off or lands. It looks almost exactly like the eastern meadowlark, so the surest clue is its song, a rich, flute-like run of gurgling notes that usually falls in pitch, and its low chook call.

How it lives

Meadowlarks walk on the ground, probing the soil with their bills for insects such as beetles, grasshoppers, crickets and caterpillars, which dominate their summer diet. Seeds and waste grain make up roughly a third of the yearly diet, mostly in fall and winter. The female builds a domed grass nest with a side entrance on the ground, and males sing from posts to defend their territories.

Where to see one in Oregon

The western meadowlark lives in Oregon all year, breeding in grass and sagebrush country across the state, though many eastern Oregon birds leave for the winter. It is easiest to find in the open sagebrush, grassland and farm country of eastern Oregon, often singing from fence posts along roadsides. West of the Cascades it breeds most commonly in the Rogue Valley, and more sparsely in the Willamette Valley and along the coast; in winter, numbers there are generally higher than in summer.

A sensitive species

The meadowlark is still widespread and common across its range, but surveys show declines in recent decades. In Oregon it is listed as a state Sensitive species, and it is a Conservation Strategy Species in the Willamette Valley, where much of its grassland habitat has been lost or disturbed.

Chosen by schoolchildren

In 1927 the Oregon Audubon Society organized a vote among the state’s schoolchildren, who picked the western meadowlark. Governor Isaac Patterson proclaimed their choice in July 1927, but the Legislature never ratified it, making the meadowlark the only Oregon emblem not originally chosen by lawmakers. In 2017 the Legislature finally gave it formal standing by naming it the state songbird. Five other states have the western meadowlark as their state bird.