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Colorado State Bird
Lark Bunting
- Official Colorado State Bird: Lark Bunting
- Family: Emberizidae; Towhees, sparrows, longspurs, &
Emberiza buntings
- Scientific name: Calamospiza melanocorys
- Length: 7" (18 cm)
- Diet: Insects, especially grasshoppers; grass, and forb
seeds. During breeding season, 80% insects.
- Voice:
Listen to Lark Bunting song and calls.
(recorded by Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Macaulay Library)
Song of repeated low, liquid, whistled notes pwid
pwid pwid pwid too too too too kree kree kree kree pwido pwido...;
interpersed and overlaid with high, silvery rattles tt tt tt
tt; entire song rich, complex, and repetitious, with relatively
slow tempo. Call a low, soft, whistled heew or howik.
- Habitat: Nests in dry plains and prairies,
especially in sagebrush.
- Displays: Conspicuous male flight song and
display begin by rapid ascent to 20'-30'; male pauses at top of
ascent, then with jerky movements of extended wings, floats
butterfly-like to ground opposite starting point.
- Number of broods: 2
- Nest: Usually rim of cup flush with ground level,
occasionally slightly elevated, often sheltered by overhead
vegetation; woven of grass, forbs, fine roots, lined with finer grass,
stems, hair, plant down.
- Eggs: Averages 4-5 pale blue, greenish blue eggs,
occasionally spotted with reddish-brown. 0.9" (22 mm).
- Incubation period: 11-12 days
- Fledge: 8-9 days after hatching
- Longevity Record: 4 Years and 0 months (according to USGS
Bird Banding Lab)
The Lark Bunting was adopted as the
official Colorado state bird on April 29, 1931. The Lark Bunting is a migrant
bird. Flocks arrive in April and inhabit the plains regions and areas up to
8,000 feet in elevation. They fly south again in September. The male bird is
black with snowy white wing patches and edgings, tail coverts and outer tail
feathers. In winter the male bird changes to a gray brown like the female bird,
however the chin remains black and the black belly feathers retain white
edgings. The female bird is gray brown above and white below with dusky streaks.
 Here's a great book, Guide to Colorado Birds ,
that gives wonderful information and photos of all of the birds of Colorado,
including the Lark Bunting.
Return to 50 State
Birds Page from Colorado State Bird
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