{"id":46058,"date":"2017-04-08T06:24:57","date_gmt":"2017-04-08T12:24:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=46058"},"modified":"2025-12-13T07:17:28","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T13:17:28","slug":"female-and-male-western-meadowlarks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/04\/08\/female-and-male-western-meadowlarks\/","title":{"rendered":"Female And Male Western Meadowlarks – A Glimpse Into Their Mating Behaviors"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MaleMale Western Meadowlark on a tall sagebrush – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 800, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Three days ago while out on Antelope Island State Park<\/span><\/a> under cloudy skies I was able to observe a glimpse into the mating behaviors of a pair of Western Meadowlarks.<\/p>\n

When I first started to photograph the meadowlark above I wasn’t aware that it was a male but that became clearer to me later into the session.<\/p>\n

He was perched on a tall sagebrush and was looking around and singing. The light was low because of the cloudy skies so these aren’t my best images but they turned out okay.<\/p>\n

\"FemaleFemale Western Meadowlark rattling – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 800, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Not long after I began to photograph the first meadowlark I heard what I thought at the time was a juvenile begging for food and that puzzled me because I would not expect to see meadowlark fledglings quite this early in the year.<\/p>\n

Then I located the bird that was making the sound and photographed it while it fluttered its wings and rattled.<\/p>\n

The second meadowlark was paler than the first and seeing that played another trick on my mind because young meadowlarks are usually paler than adults.<\/p>\n

\"FemaleFemale Western Meadowlark on sagebrush – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2500, ISO 800, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The second Western Meadowlark didn’t sing, it just made some rattling type calls while it perched on the sagebrush.<\/p>\n

Its throat and chest were a paler yellow than the first bird and the black on its throat wasn’t as dark or sharply defined in shape. I was still a bit puzzled at this point.<\/p>\n

\"FemaleFemale Western Meadowlark with nesting materials – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 800, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

But then the second Western Meadowlark flew of slightly to the south and began walking around on the ground under some low sagebrushes and out into the grasses.<\/p>\n

I twisted as far as I could to take a few documentary shots of the meadowlark on the ground and realized that it was gathering nesting materials.<\/p>\n

Then it began to click, what I thought was an out of season young meadowlark was a female and they can have duller plumage than the males and only the females build the nests.<\/p>\n

The “rattle call” of female meadowlarks is thought to be a response to the males songs and is part of the pair bond*<\/span>.<\/p>\n

\"WesternWestern Meadowlark male singing on sagebrush – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 800, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The female meadowlark gathered more nesting material while the male sang on his high sagebrush perch and when she flew across the road and ducked under a sagebrush there the male took flight after her and they had an aerial chase that took them out of my field of view.<\/p>\n

The Western Meadowlark mating behavior of this pair was interesting to observe and photograph and I also learned that I need to be a bit more careful about thinking I am seeing a young meadowlark when it actually might be a female.\u00a0 Live, observe, learn, repeat!<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Western Meadowlark photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n

*<\/span> From Birds of North America online<\/span><\/a><\/em> This is a paid subscription site.<\/em> <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three days ago while out on Antelope Island State Park under cloudy skies I was able to observe a glimpse into the mating behaviors of a pair of Western Meadowlarks. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":165736,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[511,27,1022,26,371],"tags":[5788,2519,11480,4346,4072,4070,3747,4109,4062,4347,4824,4825,4182,2662,5787,5786,2817,4057,4349,4179,4308],"class_list":["post-46058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-utah","category-western-meadowlarks","tag-aerial-chase","tag-artemisia-tridentata","tag-big-sagebrush","tag-breeding-behavior","tag-calling","tag-female","tag-grass","tag-grasses","tag-male","tag-mating-behavior","tag-meadowlark","tag-meadowlarks","tag-nesting-material","tag-pair-bond","tag-rattle-call","tag-rattling","tag-sage","tag-sagebrush","tag-sexual-behavior","tag-singing-2","tag-western-meadowlark"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/western-meadowlark-female-calling-mia-mcpherson-4681.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-bYS","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14611,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/03\/24\/a-western-meadowlark-on-the-wing\/","url_meta":{"origin":46058,"position":0},"title":"Western Meadowlark On The Wing","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 24, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Five days ago while on Antelope Island I photographed this Western Meadowlark as it sang on the stump of a dead Sagebrush.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Flying Western Meadowlark, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/western-meadowlark-flying-mia-mcpherson-7733.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/western-meadowlark-flying-mia-mcpherson-7733.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3993,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/01\/13\/friday-photos-horned-lark-and-western-meadowlark\/","url_meta":{"origin":46058,"position":2},"title":"Friday Photos ~ Horned Lark and Western Meadowlark","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 13, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Horned Larks and Western Meadowlarks are birds that I enjoy photographing all year long in Utah and yesterday they gave me some wonderful opportunities.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta), Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/western-meadowlark-mia-mcpherson-6550.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/western-meadowlark-mia-mcpherson-6550.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/western-meadowlark-mia-mcpherson-6550.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/western-meadowlark-mia-mcpherson-6550.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8411,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/05\/22\/western-meadowlark-in-flight\/","url_meta":{"origin":46058,"position":3},"title":"Western Meadowlark In Flight","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 22, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"This Western Meadowlark lifted off from a Sagebrush and I was able to track it and capture this image as soon as it was airborne. I've found it difficult to get images of Western Meadowlarks in flight because they move so quickly.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Western Meadowlark in flight, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/western-meadowlark-flying-mia-mcpherson-7525.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/western-meadowlark-flying-mia-mcpherson-7525.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/western-meadowlark-flying-mia-mcpherson-7525.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/western-meadowlark-flying-mia-mcpherson-7525.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":20559,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/02\/23\/close-up-of-a-singing-western-meadowlark\/","url_meta":{"origin":46058,"position":4},"title":"Close Up Of A Singing Western Meadowlark","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 23, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"It was chilly yesterday on Antelope Island but the Western Meadowlarks were singing from perches on rocks and on top of sagebrush.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Close up of a singing Western Meadowlark on Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/western-meadowlark-portrait-mia-mcpherson-4956.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/western-meadowlark-portrait-mia-mcpherson-4956.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/western-meadowlark-portrait-mia-mcpherson-4956.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/western-meadowlark-portrait-mia-mcpherson-4956.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6828,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/12\/18\/western-meadowlark-lift-off\/","url_meta":{"origin":46058,"position":5},"title":"Western Meadowlark Lift Off","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 18, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"This Western Meadowlark image was taken last month on Antelope Island State Park. I meant to post it earlier but forgot because I got so busy trying to set up my new computer. Life outside of bird photography does get in the way at times.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Western Meadowlark lifting off from a sagebrush, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/western-meadow-lark-mia-mcpherson-2763.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/western-meadow-lark-mia-mcpherson-2763.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/western-meadow-lark-mia-mcpherson-2763.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46058\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/165736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}