Western Meadowlark Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesWestern Meadowlark
Breeding adult
Chunky, short-tailed grassland bird with a flat head, a long, slender bill, and a round-shouldered posture. Breeding adults have bright yellow underparts with a prominent black V on the chest.
© Alix d'Entremont / Macaulay LibraryBritish Columbia, May 28, 2017Nonbreeding adult/immature
Chunky, short-tailed grassland bird with a flat head and a long, slender bill. Nonbreeding birds are heavily streaked above with pale yellow underparts and a faint brown V on the chest.
© Carter Gasiorowski / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, November 28, 2020Breeding adult
Chunky grassland bird with round-shouldered posture. Note white outer tail feathers, most obvious in flight.
© Alix d'Entremont / Macaulay LibraryBritish Columbia, May 28, 2017Nonbreeding adult/immature
Flat-headed grassland bird with a long, pointed bill. Note entirely yellow throat.
© Brandon Caswell / Macaulay LibraryIowa, March 20, 2016Nonbreeding adult/immature
Nonbreeding birds are paler yellow than breeding birds. Note paler head stripes and entirely yellow throat.
© Brian Sullivan / Macaulay LibraryWyoming, October 06, 2015Nonbreeding adult
© Brian Sullivan / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, December 05, 2010Not all videos have sound
Habitat
Found in grasslands and agricultural fields.
© Tim Lenz / Macaulay LibraryArizona, December 30, 2015Similar SpeciesEastern Meadowlark
Breeding adult (Eastern)
Eastern and Western Meadowlarks are best separated by voice. For silent birds, look for darker head stripes and a mostly white (not yellow), mustache stripe on Eastern. They also show slightly more white in the tail in flight than Western.
© Doris Brookens / Macaulay LibraryFlorida, March 26, 2017Similar SpeciesHorned Lark
Male
Horned Larks are smaller than meadowlarks, with a shorter bill and white underparts, unlike the yellow-bellied Western Meadowlark.
© Daniel Jauvin / Macaulay LibraryQuebec, April 26, 2017Similar SpeciesYellow-headed Blackbird
Female
Female Yellow-headed Blackbirds have more yellow on the head and a much darker body than Western Meadowlarks. They lack the Western Meadowlark's streaky back.
© Wolfe R / Macaulay LibraryColorado, May 07, 2017Similar SpeciesRed-winged Blackbird
Female (Red-winged)
Female Red-winged Blackbirds are more slender and darker than Western Meadowlarks, and they lack yellow on the breast.
© David Trescak / Macaulay LibraryQuebec, March 05, 2017Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
Compare with Similar Species
Click on an image to compare
Species in This Family
Troupials and Allies(Order: Passeriformes, Family: Icteridae)
Don't miss a thing! Join our email list
The Cornell Lab will send you updates about birds,
birding, and opportunities to help bird conservation.