Eastern Meadowlark Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  Eastern Meadowlarks are chunky, medium-sized songbirds with short tails and long, spear-shaped bills. In flight, their rounded wings, short tails, and long bills help set them apart from other grassland songbirds.

  Relative Size

  Slightly larger but more compact than an American Robin; smaller than a Blue Jay.

  robin-sized

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 7.5-10.2 in (19-26 cm)
    • Weight: 3.2-5.3 oz (90-150 g)
    • Wingspan: 13.8-15.8 in (35-40 cm)

  © Mark Scheuerman / Macaulay Library

• Color Pattern

  Eastern Meadowlarks are pale brown marked with black, with bright-yellow underparts and a bold black V across the chest. Though most of the tail is brown with blackish barring, the outer feathers are white and conspicuous during flight.

• Behavior

  Eastern Meadowlarks walk on the ground, often concealed by grasses or crops. Males sing beautiful, flutelike songs from exposed perches, particularly fenceposts. Their flight is a distinctive sequence of rapid fluttering and short glides, usually low to the ground. In winter you may see flocks of meadowlarks hunting insects in fields.
• Habitat

  Eastern Meadowlarks live in farm fields, grasslands, and wet fields. They nest on the ground and sing from exposed perches such as treetops, fenceposts, and utility lines.