Grassland Birds - Lark Bunting (Calamospiza melanocorys)

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Lark Bunting, July 2016, El Paso County, CO
D500, 500mm f/4 + 1.7x tc
1/3200 sec at f/8, ISO 900


     This is a continuation of a series (July 5, 25, 30, Aug 4) in which I present photos of birds that are either residents of the U.S. National Grasslands or use the Grasslands as a breeding area. The Lark Bunting, the state bird of Colorado, is one of the birds I am most likely to see when birding the Pawnee National Grassland near Briggsdale CO or the grasslands of the High Plains in El Paso county. 

Lark Bunting, July 2016, El Paso County, CO
D500, 500mm f/4 + 1.7x tc
1/3200 sec at f/8, ISO 900


     Lark Buntings breed in the prairie regions of central Canada and the mid-western United States and migrate in flocks in the fall to winter in southern Texas, Arizona and the high plateau of northern Mexico (info from Wikipedia). 

Lark Bunting, July 2016, El Paso County, CO
D500, 500mm f/4 + 1.7x tc
1/3200 sec at f/8, ISO 800

The first four photos show the male Lark Bunting In breeding plumage. They are large mostly black sparrows. The large bluish gray bill and large white wing patches are key identification features. 

Lark Bunting, July 2016, El Paso County, CO
D500, 500mm f/4 + 1.7x tc
1/3200 sec at f/8, ISO 800

Click on image for a larger view

Lark Bunting, August 2015, El Paso County, CO
D4, 500mm f/4 + 2x tc
1/2000 sec at f/9, ISO 1100

As illustrated in this and the following two photos, females and young Lark Buntings have thick brown streaking on the breast, a pale stripe over the eye, a dark mustache stripe and a white throat patch but the long white patch along the folded wing is what I rely on for identification.  

Click on image for a larger view

Lark Bunting, July 2016, El Paso County, CO
D500, 500mm f/4 + 2x tc
1/1250 sec at f/8, ISO 800

Click on image for a larger view

Lark Bunting, July 2016, El Paso County, CO
D500, 500mm f/4 + 2x tc
1/1250 sec at f/8, ISO 800

Lark Bunting, July 2016, El Paso County, CO
D500, 500mm f/4 + 2x tc
1/1250 sec at f/9, ISO 900

Here because I could not convince myself to remove it. 

Click on image for a larger view

Lark Bunting, May 2018, Pawnee National Grassland, CO
Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II camera, 300mm f/4 IS Pro lens + 1.4x tc
1/2500 sec at f/6.3, ISO 640

In the spring I enjoyed watching the males perform their territorial flight in which they fly up high above their territory, hover briefly, and "then with jerky movements of extended wings, float butterfly-like to the ground" (ref), singing throughout the display.

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David Sparks

I retired in 2005 after 40 years of research and teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (24 years), the University of Pennsylvania (8 years) and the Baylor College of Medicine (8 years). Photography is my retirement hobby.

Nature photography, especially bird photography, combines a number of things that I really enjoy: bird-watching, being outdoors, photography, travel, messing about with computers, and learning new skills and concepts.  I now spend much of my time engaged in these activities.

David Sibley in the preface to The Sibley Guide to Birds wrote "Birds are beautiful, in spectacular as well as subtle ways; their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature."  My goal is to acquire images that capture the beauty and uniqueness of selected species as well as images that highlight the engaging behaviors the birds exhibit.