The Western Meadowlark is the official state bird of Wyoming, known for its melodic song and yellow throat, breast, and belly. It lives in grasslands and rarely migrates during the winter. The male pursues two females during mating, and the female builds the nest on the ground. It is more likely to visit rural and agricultural areas and is also the official state bird of Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, and North Dakota. Its numbers are slowly declining.
The Western Meadowlark, a large stocky bird with a short tail, is the official state bird of Wyoming. This bird has a yellow throat, breast and belly and a brown back, with a black “V” on the breast. It is abundant throughout western North America and is well known for its melodic song, which has a distinct seven- to ten-note flute-like quality. The Western Meadowlark is in the same family as orioles and blackbirds.
The state bird of Wyoming is a country bird. It lives in grasslands, agricultural areas, grasslands and shrub-steppe areas. It rarely migrates during the winter, preferring instead to seek out sheltered areas in fields and wetlands. In some parts of the country, the western lark’s range overlaps that of the eastern lark, and the western lark defends its territory from its eastern counterpart.
The Western Meadowlark male typically has two mates at a time. During mating, the male pursues the females in a flying “chase” formation, with the females determining the speed of the chase. After mating, the female does all of the incubation of the eggs and handles most of the feeding duties. In the rare instances that this Wyoming state bird breeds with its eastern counterpart, the eggs produced are usually not viable.
After breeding, the female builds her nest on the ground, typically under dense vegetation or in small hollows, such as those created by a cow’s footprint. The nests are grassy domes with side entrances and are often woven into nearby plants or grasses. In a typical reproductive cycle, females lay four to six eggs, which take about two weeks to hatch. The young Western Meadowlark leaves the next one before it can even fly properly, about 10-12 days after hatching. Females can raise two broods in each mating season.
Those hoping to attract Wyoming’s state bird to their bird feeders may have a hard time, as the Western Meadowlark is no ordinary backyard bird. They are more likely to visit rural and agricultural areas. Making the yard more inviting to the bird by providing plenty of roosting areas and an abundant supply of grass seed can increase the likelihood of a visit from the Western Meadowlark.
The Western Meadowlark became the official state bird of Wyoming in 1927. It is also the official state bird of Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, and North Dakota. While the Western Meadowlark is abundant throughout its region and is not currently a conservation concern, its numbers are slowly starting to decline.
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