Lark Bunting

Overview

Lark Bunting: Large sparrow, nearly black with large white wing patches, short, white-edged tail, and heavy, blue-gray bill. Forages in groung, low vegetation. Strong flight, alternates shallow wing beats with brief periods of wings pulled to sides. It is the state bird of Colorado.

Range and Habitat

Lark Bunting: Breeds on prairies of south-central Canada and central U.S. Spends winters in the southwest and Mexico. Found in shortgrass prairies, sagebrush flats, and open areas in the southeastern lowlands.

INTERESTING FACTS

The male Lark Bunting is the only sparrow that completely changes plumage from distinctive breeding colors to plain winter ones.
It is the state bird of Colorado.
A group of buntings are collectively known as a "decoration", "mural", and "sacrifice" of buntings.

The Lark Bunting is rated as Least Concern. This is a terrestrial bird species that is native to the United States, Mexico and Canada. The range of this bird is almost 2 million square kilometers. The population of the Lark Bunting is estimated at around 27 million individual birds. The prior rating for the Lark Bunting was Lower Risk. This rating was downgraded to Least Concern in 2004 based upon the range and the population of the Lark Bunting, both of which are fairly large. There are no known threats to the Lark Bunting at this time.