Fun Lark Bunting Facts For Kids

Lark buntings are small-sized New World sparrow birds that are native to central and western North America. These birds have a compact, robust body and heavy conical bills. The male lark bunting is pitch black in color with white wings, while the immatures, non-breeding males and females are usually brown or pale brown in color with white underwings and blue-gray bills. Lark buntings (Calamospiza melanocorys) are North American birds that are usually found near open grounds and grasslands.

Lark buntings are also known to migrate in winters to different places southwards. Lark buntings have also been accepted as the state bird of Colorado. If you are interested in knowing more about this Colorado lark bunting bird, make sure to continue reading about lark bunting bird facts along with the facts about lark bunting, Colorado state's official bird. After reading these lark bunting facts for kids, check out our other articles on painted bunting facts and cockatiel facts as well.

What type of animal is a lark bunting?

Lark buntings (Calamospiza melanocorys) are medium-sized American Sparrow birds and are also the only members belonging to the family Passerellidae and genus Calamospiza.

What class of animal does a lark bunting belong to?

Lark bunting belongs to the order Passeriformes, family Passerellidae, and class Aves and is known to be really abundant in different habitats of central and western North America.

How many lark buntings are there in the world?

As we all know, it is almost impossible to count the number of lark buntings that are found throughout the world. But they have been put under the category of Least Concern by the IUCN which suggests that their population does not need any conservation right now. However, these birds were very common during the early times; but slowly, their population has seen a drastic decline mainly due to loss of habitat.

Where does a lark bunting live?

These birds are known to live in a variety of habitats and areas but are also very specific to areas of central and western North America, whereas they are very rare in other places. They are very commonly found in grasslands and sagebrush plains. They are also known to migrate to a variety of places from central and western North America to further south during the winters.

What is a lark bunting's habitat?

Lark buntings are New World sparrows that are known to be abundantly found during summers in western plains and are native to central and western North America. These birds prefer different habitats during summer, including plains, prairies, grasslands, and sagebrush, where they are known to breed. They also migrate in large groups during winters to open areas such as desert grassland and agricultural fields.

Who do lark buntings live with?

Lark buntings are active social creatures that are known to be residing as well as traveling in large groups called flocks stretching from hundred to thousand members. These birds are especially known to make their flocks even bigger during migrations and are also known to feed in flocks during their winter flight. Apart from this, lark buntings are also known to reside in loosely knit colonies where they are known to breed and protect one another as well as their nestlings from predators.

How long does a lark bunting live?

Lark buntings are known to reside in very specific regions and habitats and are known to breed basically in New Mexico, Texas, and Canada. However, there is no specific lifespan recorded to date. They become prey to a large number of predators which brings their life expectancy in the wild even lower. The longest living lark bunting recorded to date was a male known to have a lifespan of 4 years and 10 months in Arizona.

How do they reproduce?

Lark buntings primarily are monogamous species of birds; however, some of them are also known to practice polygyny as males are sometimes known to have multiple partners. The males and females are rarely seen separate from one another, especially during the breeding season. Lark buntings are known to migrate in groups along with their partners and later are known to separate and perform mating rituals. The female lark bunting is known to have an incubation period of 11-12 days in which males may or may not help with their wings, and then they are known to lay around 4-5 eggs on average. Both the parents are known to feed their nestlings.

What is their conservation status?

Lark buntings are New World sparrows that are abundantly found throughout their range in central and western North America. They are identified bird species by the IUCN and have been put under the category of Least Concern. However, their population has been decreasing for the last few years, although it's not too less to be put up for conservation.

What do lark buntings look like?

Lark buntings are small-sized that are amongst small-sized birds that belong to the family Passerellidae and are as small as the size of a normal sparrow. Both the males and females are very distinct looking and can be easily identified or distinguished from one another. The breeding males are of dark black color with white wing patches while the non-breeding males are brownish or pale brown in color with white wings similar to that of breeding males. The females or immatures are pale browns from under while brown from above with white tips and inner tail feathers. The male, female and immature lark buntings also have distinctive pale blue-gray short bills.

How cute are they?

Although Central and North America is home to several really striking and great species, lark buntings are one of the most beautiful and cute sparrows among all of them. They are very attractive – especially the males – and are also known to make a variety of calls and songs which will make you love them even more.

How do they communicate?

Lark buntings are really vocal species in flocks that are known to sing melodic flight songs, especially the males, during the breeding season to display their territories. They are also known to display aggression and threaten other flocks by ruffling the feathers, flicking their wings, and contorting their body.

How big is a lark bunting?

Lark buntings are small-sized breeding birds in which the females and males have a length range of 5.5-7.1 in (14-18 cm), and also have a wingspan of 9.8-11 in (25-28 cm). These birds are similar to the size of a normal sparrow, larger than a song sparrow, and are smaller than a fox sparrow in size and weight.

How fast can a lark bunting fly?

Lark buntings are really fast species of birds that are known to chase their prey in a distant flight – especially insects – to catch them for themselves as well as their nestlings and eat in the nest during the nesting season. They are also known to fly really fast when they are threatened by predators, and also during migration in the winters while in their flight and make their way towards their nest.

How much does a lark bunting weigh?

A lark bunting is one of the small-sized species of sparrow that is known to weigh around 1.3 -1.5 oz (36.8-42.5 g).

What are the male and female names of the species?

Like many other species of birds and sparrows, there are no specific names given to the male and female species of lark buntings.

What would you call a baby lark bunting?

Young lark buntings are known as chicks or nestlings.

What do they eat?

Non-breeding males of lark buntings are omnivorous creatures that are known to largely rely on insects and seeds for their primary diet. These birds usually eat insects such as grasshoppers, beetles, tree bugs, and ants for their diet, especially during the summer, as they have rich water content and help them survive even through a drought for large intervals. Lark bunting birds also prefer seeds and are known to feed on weeds, waste grains, and grasses – especially during winters – which help them survive efficiently.

Are they dangerous?

No, absolutely not. Lark buntings are small to medium-sized North American birds, almost the size of a lark sparrow, and are not known to cause any harm or danger to humans.

Would they make a good pet?

Lark buntings are gregarious and omnivores species that are also known to migrate during the winter to another habitat and live in a nest. These birds are not preferred as pet birds by bird lovers, and also, they are relatively not suited to domestication as they are wild creatures adapted to live like that in a nest.

Did you know...

The male lark buntings are known to sing songs usually during their flights and also when the population is migrating during winter.

This population of lark bunting birds is also regarded as survivor birds as they are capable of surviving long intervals of summer and drought without drinking any water; and consuming moisture from insects and grasshoppers, which is their prime food during the summer season in their habitat. The winter season is also tolerable as a lark bunting stays in its habitat.

The lark bunting as a state bird

Lark bunting gained the status of state bird of Colorado in 1931. These birds were selected as the state bird as the people of Colorado wanted to assign this position to a bird that was abundantly found in their area and is not a state bird of any other state. A contest was organized where different people represented different birds that would be suitable as the state bird of Colorado. The completion was between a lark bunting, bluebird, and meadowlark. The lark buntings were represented by Roy Langdon who was a high school teacher of Fort Collins High School and represented lark bunting as a symbol of the glory that was, and everlasting joy that is, living in Colorado that caught the attention of people. After a long debate and various arguments, lark bunting won through a unanimous decision.

What does the lark bunting sound like

Lark buntings are known to make a variety of calls. They are known to make very gentle yet distinctive 'hweee' sounds, especially when they are flying and communicating with one another that sounds like a song. The sound of the lark bunting song is well-known, especially during the winter.  The parents or adults are also known to make chittering calls to give indications for returning to the house, while the young ones or nestlings are known to make short calls and buzzing insect-like sounds while eating and asking for food from their parents.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other birds including warbling vireo facts, or seaside sparrow facts.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free Lark bunting coloring pages.

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