Western Meadowlark Supersp #51 Sturnella neglecta Audubon       Field Guide IDs: NG-434; G-296; PE-256; PW-pl 54; AE-pl 391; AW-pl 423; AM(III)-294 Nest Location Nest Type Eggs & Mating System Dev. & Parental Care Primary & 2ndary Diet.. Foraging Strategy F I: 13-15 DAYS ALTRICIAL F 5(3-7) MONOG (POLYGYN) F: 12 DAYS F-M SEEDS BREEDING: Grassland, savanna, pasture, cultivated fields. 2 broods. DISPLAYS: Courting male stands erect on ground, points bill skyward with tail fanned and jerks tail up and down; waves wings alternately or together, breast feathers fluffed. Male then may jump straight up into air; female occ responds with similar display but remains on ground. NEST: In natural or scraped depression; of coarse grass, lined with finer grass, hair. Domed canopy of grass, bark, forbs interwoven with surrounding veg; opening on one side. EGGS: White, marked with browns, purples. 1.1" (28 mm). DIET: Includes few spiders, sowbugs, snails; grass and forb seeds. CONSERVATION: Winters s to c Mexico. Range expanding in n e. Uncommon cowbird host. NOTES: Interspecifically territorial where both meadowlarks overlap; some males sing songs of both species. Males have repertoires of 5-12 song types. Roosts on ground in small groups. Winter flocks of 40-100. STANFORD. NOTES: Common resident in grassland and weedy habitats near the Dish, with a few pairs possibly nesting around Lagunita and fields on the western side of campus. During the nonbreeding season, flocks are present in the dry bed of Lagunita in fall, and occasional individuals may occur in open, grassy habitats elsewhere on campus. ESSAYS: Vocal Development; Polygyny; Great Plains Hybrids; Interspecific Territoriality; Sibling Species REFERENCES: Falls and Krebs, 1975; Lanyon, 1957; Orians, 1985; Rohwer, 1973.