Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna)

County List:

Rule:

Mixed Forested/Nonforested or Nonforested Landscapes

      Small Grains/Forage Crops
      or Fields/Pasture

Habitat List:

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Literature:

Habitat: Eastern Meadowlarks appear to prefer habitats wetter than ones occupied by the closely related Western Meadowlark. The eastern species is often found in tall grass prairies, hayfields, open wetlands in river bottoms, or other lush, poorly drained open areas. In Michigan, the Atlas Habitat Survey showed a strong preference for hayfields (41% of the observations). Old fields, though less desirable, also were well represented. Pastures were also used where they occurred, mostly in the northern Lower Peninsula.

Eastern Meadowlark nests are typically a dry scrape or depression on the ground lined with consecutive layers of coarse grass followed by fine grass.

Habitat: Breeding: Open farmlands, especially pastures, hayfields and grassy meadows. They may use areas with widely scattered shrubs and may favor moist lowlands.

Special Habitat Requirements: Grasslands, elevated singing perches.

Habitat: Open fields and pastures, meadows, prairies. Breeds in natural grasslands, meadows, weedy pastures, also in hayfields and sometimes in fields of other crops. Winters in many kinds of natural and cultivated fields. In the Midwest, tends to prefer taller and lusher grass than Western Meadowlark, but in the southwest it lives in very arid desert grassland.

Diet: Mostly insects and seeds. Majority of diet consists of insects, especially in summer, when it eats many grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, and their larvae, caterpillars, ants, true bugs, and others; also spiders. Seeds and waste grain make up over one-fourth of annual diet and are eaten especially in fall and winter.

Nest: Placed on the ground, in areas with dense grass and other low cover, in a small depression in soil. Nest is a domed structure with the entrance on the side, made of grass stems interwoven with surrounding growth. Usually has narrow trails or "runways" leading to nest through the grass.