The Lark Bunting (Calamospiza melanocorys) congregates in large flocks along roadsides. The male is all black with a large white wing patch. The female is similar to a female sparrow, a streaked sandy brown, white below with a white eye line, white wing patch that is not always visible and rounded white tipped tail feathers. Its melodious song is a long and varied series of trills and notes.

This little bird ( 6 inches) inhabits grasslands and prairies with its nest, an open cup of loose grass, on the ground. The clutch size is 3 to 6 light blue eggs. The eggs are incubated for 11 to 12 days. The young fledge in a little over a week. There are one to two broods in a season.

Its breeding range is on the prairies of southcentral Canada and central United States. It winters in the Southwest and into Mexico.

The diet of these birds consists of seeds and insects.

Order: Passeriformes | Family: Fringillidae | Genus: Calamospiza | Species: Calamospiza melanocorys