The Western Meadowlark is one of our most abundant and widely distributed grassland birds. It inhabits open country from natural and planted grasslands of the Northern Great Plains to tidal flats along the Pacific Ocean, and from sea level to mountain meadows at 3700 meters. Its frequent roadside occurrence, colorful plumage, and melodious song make it one of our most popular birds; no fewer than six states have it as their state bird.

Although the Western Meadowlark was known to explorers Lewis and Clark, John James Audubon was impressed with the degree to which it had subsequently been overlooked and gave the bird its Latin name (Sturnella neglecta). His report ( Audubon, J. J. 1844. The birds of America, from drawings made in the United States and their territories. Octavo ed. Vol. 7. Philadelphia, PA: J. B. Chevalier. Close Audubon 1844) of a meadowlark west of the Mississippi similar in appearance but differing in voice from the familiar Eastern Meadowlark (S. magna) triggered a debate over the status of these birds that lasted for another century. Studies of their morphology, ecology, and behavior in regions of sympatry from Texas to Ontario revealed little or no evidence of interbreeding and one of the first cases of interspecific territoriality among North American birds. Subsequent research with captive birds demonstrated a high incidence of hybrid sterility.

Although a gifted songster, the Western Meadowlark is not a lark (Family Alaudidae) but related instead to New World blackbirds and troupials (Family Emberizidae, subfamily Icterinae). It is easily recognized as a meadowlark by its white tail margins and yellow breast with V-shaped black bib, but separation from the Eastern Meadowlark in the field is difficult except by species-specific songs and calls.

Key studies of Western Meadowlarks have been conducted by Bryant ( Bryant, H. C. 1914a. A determination of the economic status of the western meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) in California. Univ. Calif. Publ. Zool. no. 11:377-510. Close Bryant 1914a) on the diet of the species in California. Interestingly the study arose in response to pressure by grain-growers to have the species designated a “pest” due to its impact on crops. At the same time, its insectivorous habit was also well known and it was recognized that the species could play a role in controlling harmful invertebrates. Lanyon conducted key studies of natural history ( Lanyon, W. E. 1953. Meadowlarks in Wisconsin, part 2: Wintering, migration, song, and breeding biology. Passenger Pigeon no. 15:150-158. Close Lanyon 1953, Lanyon, W. E. 1957. The comparative biology of the meadowlarks (Sturnella) in Wisconsin. Cambridge, MA: Publ. Nuttall Ornithol. Club, no. 1. Close Lanyon 1957), distribution ( Lanyon, W. E. 1956a. Ecological aspects of the sympatric distribution of meadowlarks in the north-central states. Ecology no. 37:98-108. Close Lanyon 1956a, Lanyon, W. E. 1962. Species limits and distribution of meadowlarks of the desert grassland. Auk no. 79:183-207. Close Lanyon 1962), and hybridization ( Lanyon, W. E. 1966. Hybridization in meadowlarks. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. no. 134:1-26. Close Lanyon 1966, Lanyon, W. E. 1979b. Hybrid sterility in meadowlarks. Nature no. 279:557-558. Close Lanyon 1979b). Further work by Rowher ( Rohwer, S. A. 1972a. A multivariate assessment of interbreeding between the meadowlarks, Sturnella. Syst. Zool. no. 21:313-338. Close Rohwer 1972a, Rohwer, S. A. 1972b. Distribution of meadowlarks in the central and southern Great Plains and the desert grasslands of eastern New Mexico and west Texas. Trans. Kans. Acad. Sci. no. 75:1-19. Close Rohwer 1972b, Rohwer, S. A. 1973a. Significance of sympatry to behavior and evolution of Great Plains meadowlarks. Evolution no. 27:44-57. Close Rohwer 1973a) advanced our knowledge on the distribution and hybridization of Eastern and Western Meadowlarks in the Great Plains. Falls and colleagues have revealed many aspects of the structure and function of the meadowlark's beautiful and unique song ( Falls, J. B. and J. R. Krebs. 1975. Sequence of songs in repertoires of Western Meadowlarks. Can. J. Zool. no. 53:1165-1178. Close Falls and Krebs 1975, Falls, J. B. and L. G. d'Agincourt. 1981. A comparison of neighbor-stranger discrimination in Eastern and Western Meadowlarks. Can. J. Zool. no. 59:2380-2385. Close Falls and d'Agincourt 1981, Falls, J. B. and L. G. d'Agincourt. 1982. Why do meadowlarks switch song types? Can J. Zool. no. 60:3400-3408. Close Falls and d'Agincourt 1982, Falls, J. B. 1985. Song matching in Western Meadowlarks. Can. J. Zool. no. 63:2520-2524. Close Falls 1985, and Falls, J. B., A. G. Horn and T. E. Dickinson. 1988. How Western Meadowlarks classify their songs: evidence from song matching. Anim. Behav. no. 36:579-585. Close Falls et al. 1988, Horn, A. G. and J. B. Falls. 1988b. Structure of Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) song repertoires. Can. J. Zool. no. 66:284-288. Close Horn and Falls 1988b, Horn, A. G. and J. B. Falls. 1988a. Repertoires and countersinging in Western Meadowlarks (Sturnella neglecta). Ethology no. 77:337-343. Close Horn and Falls 1988a, Horn, A. G. and J. B. Falls. 1991. Song switching in mate attraction and territory defense by Western Meadowlarks (Sturnella neglecta). Ethology no. 87:262-268. Close Horn and Falls 1991, Horn, A. G., T. E. Dickinson and J. B. Falls. 1993. Male quality and song repertoires in Western Meadowlarks. Can. J. Zool. no. 71:1059-1061. Close Horn et al. 1993), and a number of researchers have provided insight into the habitat requirements and demography of Western Meadowlarks in the US ( Rotenberry, J. T. and J. A. Wiens. 1980a. Habitat structure, patchiness, and avian communities in North American steppe vegetation: a multivariate analysis. Ecology no. 61:1228-1250. Close Rotenberry and Wiens 1980a, Johnson, R. G. and S. A. Temple. 1990. Nest predation and brood parasitism of tallgrass prairie birds. Journal of Wildlife Management no. 54 (1):106-111. Close Johnson and Temple 1990, Koford, R. R., B. S. Bowen, J. T. Lokemoen and A. D. Kruse. 2000. "Cowbird parasitism in grassland and cropland in the northern Great Plains." In Ecology and Management of Cowbirds and Their Hosts, edited by J. N. M. Smith, T. L. Cook, S. I. Rothstein, S. K. Robinson and S. G. Sealy, 229-235. Austin: Univ. of Texas Press. Close Koford et al. 2000, Johnson, D. H. and L. D. Igl. 2001. Area requirements of grassland birds: a regional perspective. Auk no. 118:24-34. Close Johnson and Igl 2001, Johnson, D. H. and M. D. Schwartz. 1993a. The Conservation Reserve Program and grassland birds. Conservation Biology no. 7 (4):934-937. Close Johnson and Schwartz 1993a) and Canada ( Owens, R. A. and M. T. Myres. 1973. Effects of agriculture upon populations of native passerine birds of an Alberta fescue grassland. Can. J. Zool. no. 51:697-713. Close Owens and Myres 1973, Davis, S. K. and S. G. Sealy. 2000. "Cowbird parasitism and nest predation in fragmented grasslands of southwestern Manitoba." In Ecology and management of cowbirds and their hosts.. edited by J. N. M. Smith, T. L. Cook, S. I. Rothstein, S. G. Sealy and S. K. Robinson. Austin: Univ. of Texas Press. Close Davis and Sealy 2000, McMaster, D. G. and S. K. Davis. 2001. An evaluation of Canada's Permanent Cover Program: habitat for grassland birds? J. Field Ornithol. no. 72:195-210. Close McMaster and Davis 2001, Davis, S. K. 2003d. Habitat selection and demography of mixed-grass prairie songbirds in a fragmented landscape. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Regina, Saskatchewan. Close Davis 2003d, Davis, S. K. 2004c. Area sensitivity in grassland passerines: Effects of patch size, patch shape, and vegetation structure on bird abundance and occurrence in southern Saskatchewan. Auk no. 121 (4):1130-1145. Close Davis 2004c, Davis, S. K., R. M. Brigham, T. L. Shaffer and P. C. James. 2006a. Mixed-grass prairie passerines exhibit weak and variable responses to patch size. Auk no. 123 (3):807-821. Close Davis et al. 2006a)