Colorado’s State Bird, Lark Bunting. Males (here) and females are noticeably different in appearance. These sparrows, not buntings, are birds of the Great Plains and prefer to nest in prairies with sand sage like what is found on the eastern regions of Chico. Like a few other prairie species, males skylark while singing which projects their loud song further so more females might here them. They are often very social wintering and migrating in large flocks. In ideal habitat nests can be as close as 100 feet apart. Lark Buntings feed on grasshoppers and other insects. A couple of their less common names are buffalo bird and prairie bobolink, a species it is sometimes confused with. The species name, melanocorys, comes from the Greek, melanos meaning black in color, and from koros or lark, a reference to their flight songs.
In the Studio with Teal Blake
"I think you really do a subject an injustice if you don't know about it. If your heart's not in it, it doesn't mean anything."
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