Family: Emberizidae, New World Sparrows view all from this family

Description 6-7 1/2" (15-19 cm). Breeding male black, with large white wing patch. Female, immature, and winter male streaked sandy buff above, white below, with white eye line, faint "mustache" stripe, white wing patch (not always visible), and rounded, white-tipped tail feathers.

Habitat Dry plains and prairies; open sagebrush.

Nesting 4 or 5 light blue eggs in a loose grass nest placed in a scrape with rim flush with the ground; often protected by weedy patch.

Range Breeds on prairies of south-central Canada and central United States. Winters in Southwest and into Mexico.

Voice   A canary-like song with loud bubbling sequences and trills interspersed with harsher notes. Call is a 2-note whistle.

Discussion Lark Buntings are usually seen in large flocks feeding along roadsides. On the breeding grounds they are quite gregarious, several pairs crowding into a few acres of suitable habitat. Since there are few elevated song perches in their grassland breeding area, the spectacular black and white male advertises its presence with a conspicuous song flight, in which it rises almost vertically, then drops back to its original perch. Often one can see several singing males in the air at one time, providing watchers an easy way to locate a nesting colony. Like many seed-eating birds, they supplement their summer diet with insects.