The male western meadowlarks were singing on Dalles Mountain and I intended to record their song. The day was sunny but a little windy for optimal recording conditions. The birds were popping up from ground cover and landing on fence posts or barbed wire and giving poses that were impossible to pass up with the camera. This bird looks like an immature male of the species Sturna neglecta… the neglected species of meadowlark. When the meadowlarks were classified all were lumped into one species but eventually the western meadowlarks were given their own species designation. The appellation “neglecta” seemed appropriate.
Play Meadowlark song (30 seconds)
I had taken several photos when another bird popped up… the brain said “meadowlark” but for some reason I took the shot anyway. When I looked at it onscreen later I saw that it was not a meadowlark but a horned lark (Eremophila alpestris) instead (a horned lark of the interior west clade).
I would rather be lucky than good.
byLarry
