Chihuahuan Meadowlark Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  Chihuahuan Meadowlarks are stocky, medium-sized songbirds. They have a barrel-shaped body, short tail, long legs, and a long, pointed bill that contributes to a flat-headed look.

  Relative Size

  Larger than a Red-winged Blackbird, smaller than a Great-tailed Grackle.

  robin-sized

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Weight: 3.5-4.6 oz (98-131 g)

  © Ginger Spinelli / Macaulay Library

• Color Pattern

  In breeding plumage, Chihuahuan Meadowlarks have pale brown upperparts, buffy-white sides with fine dark streaking, a yellow breast and throat, a black V across the upper breast, and a boldly patterned head. Nonbreeding adults and immatures have a similar pattern, but are paler overall, with more muted colors. In flight, the tail appears mostly whitish, a field mark that can help to differentiate Chihuahuan Meadowlarks from Western Meadowlarks.

• Behavior

  Chihuahuan Meadowlarks forage and nest on the ground. They fly fairly low to the ground with a flurry of quick, shallow wingbeats followed by gliding on stiff wings.

• Habitat

  Chihuahuan Meadowlarks in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico are birds of dry desert grasslands. The separate population that occurs in central Mexico inhabits wet grasslands, utilizing irrigated farmland.