MEADOWLARKS, BLACKBIRDS, ETC.: MEADOWLARK 639 
State Records. —The Rio Grande Meadowlark, the southwestern form of the 
common eastern Meadowlark, is not common in New Mexico, but ranges across the 
southern part of the State and north to near Fort Sumner, September 25, 1902; 
southwestern foothills of the Capitan Mountains, July 1, 1903 (Gaut); and Rio 
Alamosa, September 29, 1909 (Goldman). It is more common in the extreme south¬ 
western part of the State and was found fairly common April 9-28, 1913, on the Gila, 
near the Arizona boundary, 3,800 feet (Brooks); from July 16 to August 15, 1908, at 
Hachita, Playas Lake, and Lang Ranch, Animas Valley (Goldman). It was taken at 
Fort Thorn (Henry); and in the Guadalupe Mountains on August 9,1901 (Fuertes). 
It is thus confined to the lower parts of the State from about 3,800 feet up to about 
7,000 feet. [Tt was common in the valley at San Simon, Hidalgo County, May 9, 
1920, one taken; common also in sand country, 30 to 50 miles south of Portales, 
and two specimens were collected about 40 miles south of Portales on May 18, 1925 
(Ligon).]—W. W. Cooke. 
General Habits. —While the Rio Grande and the Western 
Meadowlarks can not be distinguished on the wing, the song of hoopesi 
is so distinct that it can be recognized instantly. 
Additional Literature.—Saunders, A. A., Condor, XVI, 139, 1914 (nest and 
eggs). 
WESTERN MEADOWLARK: Stumella neglecta neglecta Audubon 
Plate 66 
Description. — Male: Length (skins) 8.3-10.1 inches, wing 4.7-5.2, tail 2.7-3.2> 
bill 1.2-1.4, tarsus 1.5-1. 6 . Female: Length (skins) 7.8-9 inches, wing 4.1-4.6, tail 
2.4-2.8, bill 1.1-1.2, tarsus 1.3-1.4. Upper mandible strikingly flattened on top, 
extending wedge-like into feathers of forehead; nostrils scaled; feet large, hind toe 
with a long, curved claw; feathers of crown stiflish, bristle-tipped. Adult male in 
summer: Crown with median bully stripe between blackish stripes mixed with grayish 
brown, adjoining yellow and buffy line over eye, and narrow black streak back of 
eye; rest of upperparts grayish brown, streaked unth black and buffy white, and barred 
with black, especially on wings and tail, outer tail feathers xnainly white; underparts 
yellow, with black jugular crescent and dark streaks on flanks; yellow of throat spreading 
onto cheeks. Adult female in summer: Similar but smaller and paler, with yellow and 
black restricted. Adults in winter: Upperparts lighter from unworn brown tips to 
feathers; underparts more buffy. Young: Colors dull, black crescent replaced by 
dusky spots. 
Range. —Breeds in western North America from north-central British Columbia 
(probably), central Alberta, central Saskatchewan, and southern Manitoba south to 
central Texas, northern Mexico, and southern California; winters from southern 
British Columbia, Montana, and Nebraska south to Louisiana, southern Texas, 
Tamaulipas, Michoacan, Jalisco, and southern Lower California. Accidental at 
Fort Simpson in southwestern Mackenzie. 
State Records. —Throughout the lower parts of New Mexico, where there is 
grass enough for it to nest in, the Western Meadowlark is one of the common birds 
(Ligon). It nests in the hottest valleys, as at Carlsbad (Bailey), and Mesilla 
(Merrill); up on the lower slopes of the mountains to 8,000 feet; [on the open mesas 
northeast of Mount Taylor at about 8,000 feet (Ligon, 1916-1918) 1; and on the 
mesa above Hondo Canyon, where young out of the nest were being fed by the 
parents, August 13, 1904 (Bailey). It also breeds at Halls Peak, 8,000 feet (Barber); 
