Meadowlarks and Grasslands

BirdNote^®

Meadowlarks and Grasslands

Written by Bob Sundstrom

This is BirdNote.

[Eastern Meadowlark song, followed by Western Meadowlark song]

With their bright yellow breasts and superlative songs, meadowlarks are among our most familiar and cherished birds. 

The Eastern Meadowlark’s clear, whistled music is the unmistakable anthem of eastern North America’s farmlands and open country. [Eastern Meadowlark song] The Western Meadowlark and its sweet, liquid notes epitomize the natural expanses of the American West. [Western Meadowlark song]

Sadly, both meadowlarks face ominous threats. True to their name, they are birds of meadows and grasslands. Birds of such grassy habitats are among the fastest declining species in North America. 

How could this happen? Well, with most native grasslands transformed by settlement and farming, meadowlarks have turned to pastures and hayfields as habitat. But here, their nesting is often disturbed by overgrazing, the cutting of hay, and seasonal burning. More permanently disruptive: Vast tracts of farmland are succumbing to suburban development. 

The meadowlarks’ best hope for the future lies in farmland and grassland conservation. There are agricultural practices that are compatible with the needs of birds – such as delaying hay-cutting until nesting birds have fledged. And the Conservation Reserve Program enables landowners to keep their acreage in grasslands. [Eastern Meadowlark song, followed by Western Meadowlark song]

For BirdNote, I’m Mary McCann.

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Senior Producer: Mark Bramhill
Producer: Sam Johnson
Content Director: Jonese Franklin

Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York.  Eastern Meadowlark recorded by LNS 106881 R.S. Little (NY state), Western Meadowlark by G. Vyn LNS 137513.
BirdNote's theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and produced by John Kessler.
© 2015 Tune In to Nature.org         June 2017/2021/October 2024  Narrator: Mary McCann

ID# SotB-meadowlarks-01