Calamospiza melanocorys
Silhouette: L. Shyamal · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10%
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 Guadalupe Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 22 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 113th most-seen of the 141 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lark Bunting in Guadalupe Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to August, the lowest months. That is one of Guadalupe Mountains National Park's wettest months, with about 40 mm of rain against 10 mm in April.
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.
3rd of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Lark Bunting sightings, Guadalupe Mountains National Park ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Badlands National Park (United States, about 20%) and Big Bend National Park (United States, about 10%).
Same family: Passerellidae
The closest relatives of the Lark Bunting that you can see in Guadalupe Mountains National Park (family Passerellidae, New World Sparrows) are Spotted Towhee (about 70%), Chipping Sparrow (about 60%) and Canyon Towhee (about 60%), 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 Guadalupe Mountains National Park (22 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.
