Some scientists believe that the southwestern form is actually a different species. The nests are … Eastern Meadowlark nests are cup shaped and woven with dead grasses, plant stems, and bark strips (Eastern Meadowlark Life history).
On the ground, their brown-and-black dappled upperparts camouflage the birds among dirt clods and dry grasses. The female finds a small depression or even hoof print, typically well concealed by dense vegetation. The birds themselves sing from fenceposts and telephone lines or stalk through the grasses, probing the ground for insects with their long, sharp bills. The clear whistled song of the Eastern Meadowlark can be heard in spring not only in the East but also in desert grasslands of the Southwest. Eastern Meadowlarks nest on the ground in grasslands. A familiar bird, known by the black "V" on its chest when it sings from a fencepost, or by the flash of white tail feathers when it flushes from the grass. The sweet, lazy whistles of Eastern Meadowlarks waft over summer grasslands and farms in eastern North America. Data were collected in conjunction with long-term field studies of the Bobwhite Sixteen subspecies of the Eastern Meadowlark are recognized, but only one occurs in Canada (Sturnella magna magna).
A female Meadowlark begins building the nest on the ground with its own hoof marks or an existing dent, which she will further mold with her beak. THE NESTING ECOLOGY AND REPRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE OF THE EASTERN MEADOWLARK JOHN L. ROSEBERRY AND W. D. KLIMSTRA T HIS paper reports on a study of 450 nests of the Eastern Meadowlark (khrneZZu magna) near Carbondale, Illinois from 1960 to 1967. 2011] The Eastern Meadowlark closely resembles the Western Meadowlark – a species found in similar habitat but nesting primarily in western North America. Rush juncus, meadow fescue, cheat, and bluegrass are most commonly used in nest construction (Roseberry). The nest will then be lined with thin grass fibers, and a roof will be created using the surrounding foliage, forming an inverted cup. [Updated by COSEWIC- May.