Sturnella neglecta
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
The western meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) is a medium-sized icterid bird, about 20 cm (7.9 in) in length. It is found across western and central North America and is a partial migrant, breeding in western Canada and western United States west of the Great Lakes, and in northern Mexico. In the northern half of the breeding range, the birds migrate south for the winter, while further south they are resident all year. The winter range also extends south and southeast of the breeding range, as far as central Mexico, and east to western Florida. The western meadowlark nests on the ground in open grasslands and shrublands. It feeds on bugs and seeds. The western meadowlark has distinctive calls described as watery or flute-like, which distinguish it from the closely related eastern meadowlark. The western meadowlark is the state bird of six states; in Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, and Wyoming.
The western meadowlark was formally described in 1844 by the American ornithologist John James Audubon under its current binomial name Sturnella neglecta. The specific epithet is from the Latin neglectus meaning "ignored", "overlooked", "neglected" or "disregarded... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Badlands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Death Valley National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 4 | Redwood National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Yellowstone National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Channel Islands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Grand Teton National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Joshua Tree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Riding Mountain National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 10 | Zion National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 12 | Pacific Rim National Park Reserve | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 13 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 14 | Guadalupe Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 15 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 16 | Olympic National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 17 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 18 | Padre Island National Seashore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 19 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 20 | Glacier National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Las Vegas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Phoenix | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Salt Lake City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Seattle | 🇺🇸 United States |
Very likely
About 90% of wildlife watchers report a Western Meadowlark sighting in Badlands National Park on a given day, based on 2,394 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the most-seen of the 120 birds we can rate there.
April to July
In those months over 90% of wildlife watchers report a Western Meadowlark in Badlands National Park on a given day, against about 30% in November, the lowest month. Those are among Badlands National Park's wettest months, with about 60 mm of rain a month against 15 mm in January.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Western Meadowlark sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 20 parks where we can rate Western Meadowlark sightings, Badlands National Park has the highest daily chance: about 90%. Next come Death Valley National Park (United States, about 20%) and El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 20%).
Same family: Icteridae
The closest relatives of the Western Meadowlark that you can see in Badlands National Park (family Icteridae, New World Blackbirds and Orioles) are Red-winged Blackbird (about 60%), Common Grackle (about 40%) and Brown-headed Cowbird (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Western Meadowlark is recorded against all the birds logged in Badlands National Park (2,394 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
