New North American Meadowlark Species -- Based on Research of A Teen Naturalist Alum!
The 63rd Supplement to the Check-list of North American Birds from the American Ornithological Society was published on August 3, 2022 in Ornithology. The changes include the split of Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna) into Eastern and Chihuahuan Meadowlarks (Sturnella lilianae). Chihuahuan Meadowlark includes the Lilian’s subspecies from Arizona, New Mexico, and northern Mexico (Sturnella l. lilianae) and another subspecies from western Mexico (Sturnella l. auropectoralis).
Sturnella range map showing the ranges for Western Meadowlark (S. neglecta) and the subspecies of Eastern Meadowlark (S. magna). The subspecies S. m. lilianae and S. m. auropectoralis are now recognized as the Chihuahuan Meadowlark. Image from Beam, J. K., Funk E. R., Taylor, S. A. (2021). Genomic and acoustic differences separate Lilian’s Meadowlark (Sturnella magna lilianae) from Eastern (S. magna) and Western (S. neglecta) meadowlarks. Ornithology 138:1-13.
The proposal for this split was written by Johanna Beam, and is based mainly on a paper published in 2021 in Ornithology on which Johanna is the lead author. Johanna grew up birding around Colorado and was a member of the Boulder County Audubon Teen Naturalists program. The research supporting this species split was done while Johanna was an undergraduate student in Biology at CU Boulder. She is now a PhD student in Biology at Pennsylvania State University.
Do Chihuahuan Meadowlarks occur in Boulder County?
The Colorado Bird Records Committee kept track of records of rare and unusual birds in Colorado -- including records of Eastern Meadowlark. There are 26 records going back nearly 50 years. At least 3 refer explicitly to the Lilian’s subspecies: 2005-22 from near the old Campo lek in Baca County, 2006-103 from the Colorado City cemetery, and 2015-089 from McIntosh Lake in Longmont (found by Johanna Beam). So yes, Chihuahuan Meadowlarks have been recorded in Boulder County.
Chihuahuan and Eastern Meadowlarks differ in vocalizations and genetics but appear similar. Photo by Jack Parlapiano, Macauley Library ML196231091.
Wonder if you have seen or heard a Chihuahuan Meadowlark?
Nathan Pieplow, author of The Peterson Field Guide to Birds Sounds, says “it’s not uncommon for the three meadowlark species to learn each other’s songs, so song alone is not sufficient to identify them. If you are hearing a bird that sounds like a Chihuahuan Meadowlark, you’ll need recordings of the “dzert” call and/or good photos of the bird (the face and, especially, the spread tail) in order to rule out the other two species.”
This article is based on an article originally published by Colorado Field Ornithologists.