Handbook of Nature-Study · Lesson XVIII · Topic 2: Bird study: birds to know
18. The meadow-lark
Goal: Your child can identify the meadow-lark by its song, its yellow breast with black "locket", and its white outer tail feathers in flight.
You'll need
- Binoculars
- A large grassy field, pasture or hay meadow
- A recording of the meadowlark's song (from a bird app or library)
- Colored pencils
- Nature notebook
What's in the book
The leading thought, the method (September and October for flight, song and appearance, then written accounts of the nest and the bird's value) and six questions on where it is seen, its song, the first and last songs of the year, its colors and "locket", its nest and its food. A poem by Ina Coolbrith follows.
The lesson, step by step
When and where
Comstock suggests September and October, and the first song in early spring. Meadowlarks live in big open grasslands: pastures, hay fields, prairies, airports and large parks. In the East it is the eastern meadowlark; in the West, the western meadowlark, with a different, bubbling song.
Keep the big idea in mind
Read this to yourself:
The meadow-lark is of great value in delivering the grass of our meadows from insect destroyers. It has a song which we all know; it can be identified by color as a large, light brown bird with white feathers on each side of the tail
Listen first
Stand at the edge of the field and listen.
Try and imitate the meadow-lark's notes by song or whistle. Does it sing while on the ground, or on a bush or fence, or during flight?
If you hear none, play a recording at home first so your child knows what to listen for.
Watch it fly
Where have you seen the meadow-lark? Did you ever see it in the woods? Describe its flight. How can you identify it by color when it is flying?
How do its white patches and its flight differ from those of the flicker?
Look for quick wingbeats, then a long low glide.
Colors and locket
Is the meadow-lark larger or smaller than the robin?
Comstock asks children to describe the colors "as far as possible" from their own looking: top of head, line above the eye, back, wings, tail, throat, breast and "locket" (the black V on the yellow breast).
Nest and food
When is the nest built; where is it placed; of what material is it built? How is it protected from sight from above?
The nest is on the ground in the grass, often with a little roof of grass. Stay on paths in grassland in spring and early summer so you don't step on one.
Put it into words
Ask your child: How would you know a meadowlark if you only heard it? If you only saw it fly? Then share the leading thought.
Nature notebook
Comstock asks for a colored sketch of the meadow-lark. Draw it singing from a fence post, yellow breast and black locket showing. Write the date of the first or last song you hear.
Afterwards
Note the date of the last meadowlark song in fall and the first in spring, as Comstock asks.
Tip
Meadowlarks have become much less common as grasslands disappear. If you find a field where they sing, it is worth a visit every season.