Eastern Meadowlark ( Sturnella magna )
By Joe Poston, Department of Biology, Catawba College, Salisbury, NC
Although the name may suggest they are related to larks, Eastern Meadowlarks are members of the New World blackbird family, the Icteridae. As a group, the seven species of meadowlarks (members of the genus Sturnella ) range throughout the New World
(Jaramillo and Burke 1999). Each of these species inhabits open areas, be they marshes, prairies, or grasslands. Within North Carolina, only the Eastern Meadowlark is found consistently (only a couple of records of Western Meadowlark have been reported).
Description
Distinguishing Eastern and Western Meadowlarks is extremely difficult. Fortunately for interested landowners, (or perhaps because of this difficulty), there are few records of
Western Meadowlarks in the state. So, landowners in North Carolina need not worry about distinguishing among Meadowlarks, but rather should try to distinguish Eastern
Meadowlarks from other birds of open areas. Eastern Meadowlarks are likely to be confused with pipits or with horned larks, because all inhabit similar habitats and have backs streaked with shades of brown. Only the Eastern Meadowlark has a yellow breast marked with a distinctive black V. Horned larks and pipits have pale or brown and white streaked breasts. Eastern Meadowlarks also exhibit a distinctive flight style. They have shallow, almost quivering wingbeats in short bursts, interspersed with short glides. They have plump bodies and tails that seem short relative to their body size. The outer tail feathers are white.
Voice
Their song is a slurred whistle, sometimes described as “spring-of the-yeeeaar”, with the final note descending in pitch. Eastern Meadowlarks will sing from exposed perches
(fence posts, power lines, trees) or from the ground. When startled, they give a “dzrrt” call.
Range
The Eastern Meadowlark is found throughout the eastern United States. It ranges north into southernmost Canada and west to the Midwest. The species is also found in Central
America and northern South America. In North Carolina, the species is encountered statewide, with higher concentrations in the southern Piedmont and along the fall line
(see Figure 1).

Figure 1.
Distribution map for Eastern Meadowlarks in the US and Canada. From
Breeding Bird Survey data from 1994-2003 (Sauer et al. 2005).
Conservation Status
Lanyon (1995) reports that Eastern Meadowlarks are declining throughout their range as revealed from Breading Bird Surveys conducted between 1966 and 1991. Declines are greatest in the northeastern states. Analysis of BBS data from 1966 to 2006 reveal that declines continue throughout the range east of the Mississippi River, but some areas of the Southwest and Midwest are experiencing increases (see Figure 2).

Habits
Figure 2.
Trend map for Eastern Meadowlarks in the US and Canada. From
Breeding Bird survey data collected between 1966 and 2003 (Sauer et al. 2005).
Eastern Meadowlarks are found in North Carolina year-round. Birds that breed here are likely present year round, while birds that breed to the north spend the winter in our state.
Males defend territories during the spring and summer within which nesting and feeding occur. In winter birds congregate in flocks in preferred habitat, often abandoning areas that were used for breeding (Lanyon 1995). Nesting begins in early April, and birds will produce two or more broods per year, with the last birds hatching in August.
Habitat
Eastern Meadowlarks are birds of open habitats, utilizing pastures, hayfields, idle fields and fallow fields, in order of preference (Roseberry and Klimstra 1970). They are also known to use crop fields, but do so rarely. Within these habitats, they prefer fields with vegetation height between 10 and 30 cm (4-12 inches), as this height affords the greatest opportunity for feeding, hiding from predators, and concealing their nests.
Management Recommendations
The most important thing landowners can do to help Eastern Meadowlark populations grow is to manage their land in ways that will permit the meadowlarks to nest

successfully. In particular, large, open areas with vegetation height of 10–30cm are ideal for nesting.
In decreasing order of importance, landowners that wish to adopt practices that will help
Eastern Meadowlarks should consider the following:

Refrain from mowing suitable habitat between April and August, as mowing during these months will cause females to abandon their nests and will destroy nests, eggs, and nestlings (Roseberry and Klimstra 1970),

Provide habitat patches that are mown every 3-5 years (Hays and Farmer 1990), or that are not grazed by cattle for a season or two (Roseberry and Klimstra 1970) as this enhances vegetation structure for the birds’ nesting,

Provide large contiguous management areas (50 acres or more is ideal), rather than several smaller fields, as predation by mammals and snakes and parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds ( Molothrus ater ) are both lower in large fields than in small fields (Herkert et al. 2003),

When possible, consider removing treelines that separate otherwise suitable habitat, as this will increase the effective size of the habitat and enhance suitability and attractiveness of a site for meadowlarks (O’Leary and Byberg
2000),

Within pasture habitats, rotate grazing by livestock as this will maintain diversity of the height and density of cover vegetation (Skinner 1975) (Studies reveal that
Eastern Meadowlarks are tolerant of grazing as long as vegetation remains >
10cm tall.), and

Provide areas with a mixture of plant species most similar to a native prairie habitat (including tall and short grasses and forbs) as opposed to monotypic stands.
References
Hays, R.L., and A.H. Farmer. 1990. Effects of the CRP on wildlife habitat: emergency haying in the midwest and pine plantings in the southeast. Trans. N. Am. Wildl. Nat.
Resour. Conf. 55:30-39.
Herkert, J.R., D.L. Reinking, D.A. Wiedenfeld, M. Winter, J.L. Zimmerman, W.E.
Jensen, E.J. Finck, R.R. Koford, D.H. Wolfe, S.K. Sherrod, M.A. Jenkins, J. Faaborg,
S.K. Robinson. 2003. Effects of prairie fragmentation on the nest success of breeding birds in the Midcontinental United States. Conservation Biology 17:587-594.
Jaramillo, A., and P. Burke. 1999. New World Blackbirds: The Icterids. London:
Christopher Helm Ltd.

Lanyon, W.E. 1995. Eastern Meadowlark ( Sturnella magna ). In The Birds of North
America, No. 160 (A.Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences,
Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists’ Union, Washington, D.C.
O’Leary, C.H., D.W. Byberg. 2000. Treelines between fields reduce the density of grassland birds. Natural Areas Journal 20: 243-249.
Roseberry, J.L., W.D. Klimstra. 1970. The nesting ecology and reproductive performance of the Eastern Meadowlark. The Wilson Bulletin 82:243-267.
Sauer, J. R., J. E. Hines, and J. Fallon. 2005. The North American Breeding Bird Survey,
Results and Analysis 1966 - 2005. Version 6.2.2006. Laurel MD: USGS Patuxent
Wildlife Research Center.
Skinner, R.M. 1975. Grassland use patterns and prairie bird populations in Missouri. Pp.
171-180 in Prairie: a multiple view (M.K. Wali, ed.). Grand Forks: Univ of N. Dakota
Press.