Calamospiza melanocorys
Silhouette: L. Shyamal · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
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 |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Lark Bunting sighting in San Francisco on a given day, based on 24 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 342nd most-seen of the 375 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Lark Bunting in San Francisco on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
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.
Among the best
Of the 11 cities where we can rate Lark Bunting sightings, San Francisco ranks 10th at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Monterrey (México, under 5%), Denver (United States, under 5%) and Mesa (United States, under 5%).
Same family: Passerellidae
The closest relatives of the Lark Bunting that you can see in San Francisco (family Passerellidae, New World Sparrows) are California Towhee (about 60%), White-crowned Sparrow (about 50%) and Song Sparrow (about 50%), 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 San Francisco (24 verified sightings), 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.
