Calamospiza melanocorys
Silhouette: L. Shyamal · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The lark bunting (Calamospiza melanocorys) is a medium-sized American bunting native to central and western North America. It was designated the state bird of Colorado in 1931. The lark bunting is monotypic, the only member of the genus Calamospiza, and is not closely related to any other genera. It was first described by J. K. Townsend in 1837, from a specimen collected on a trip he took with Thomas Nuttall, under the name Fringilla bicolor. This is a preoccupied name, so Leonhard Hess Stejneger renamed the species in 1885 Calamospiza melanocorys. By then, the lark bunting had already been given its own genus, the one it is still placed in, by Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1838.
Lark buntings are small songbirds, with a short, thick, bluish bill. There is a large patch of white on the wings and they have a relatively short tail with white tips at the end of the feathers. Breeding males have an all black body with a large white patch on the upper part of the wing. Nonbreeding males and females look similar and are grayish brown with white stripes.
Measurements: Length: 5.5–7.1 in (140–180 mm) Weight: 1.3–1.5 oz (37–43 g) Wingspan: 9.8–11.0 in (250–280... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Badlands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Guadalupe Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 6 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Phoenix | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lark Bunting sighting in Big Bend National Park on a given day, based on 429 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 95th most-seen of the 270 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January–February, April–May and August–November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lark Bunting in Big Bend National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March, June–July and December, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lark Bunting sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Lark Bunting sightings, Big Bend National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Badlands National Park (United States, about 20%).
Same family: Passerellidae
The closest relatives of the Lark Bunting that you can see in Big Bend National Park (family Passerellidae, New World Sparrows) are Canyon Towhee (about 40%), Chipping Sparrow (about 40%) and Black-throated Sparrow (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Lark Bunting is recorded against all the birds logged in Big Bend National Park (429 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.
