Lark bunting

The lark bunting (Calamospiza melanocorys) is a medium-sized American sparrow native to central and western North America. It was designated the state bird of Colorado in 1931.

Taxonomy
The lark bunting is monotypic, the only member of the genus Calamospiza, and is not closely related to any other genera. It was first described by J. K. Townsend in 1837, from a specimen collected on a trip he took with Thomas Nuttall, under the name Fringilla bicolor. This is a preoccupied name, so Leonhard Hess Stejneger renamed the species in 1885 Calamospiza melanocorys. By then, the lark bunting had already been given its own genus, the one it is still placed in, by Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1838.

Description
Lark buntings are small songbirds, with a short, thick, bluish bill. There is a large patch of white on the wings and they have a relatively short tail with white tips at the end of the feathers. Breeding males have an all black body with a large white patch on the upper part of the wing. Nonbreeding males and females look similar and are grayish brown with white stripes.

Measurements:


 * Length: 5.5 –
 * Weight: 1.3 –
 * Wingspan: 9.8 –

Distribution and habitat
The lark bunting is the most prevalent of the passerine species found in the grasslands of North America. Their breeding habitat is prairie regions in central Canada and the mid-western United States. These birds migrate in flocks to winter southern Texas, Arizona and the high plateau of northern Mexico in the fall.

Breeding
The birds typically nest in dispersed colonies. Males fly up over their territory and sing while descending to declare ownership of a nesting territory. The song consists of a mix of whistles and trills. The call is a soft hoo.

The nest is an open cup on the ground in a grassy area.

While the lark buntings are socially monogamous, there is extensive extra-pair mating, observed through extra-pair paternity. In songbirds, it is suggested that social monogamy exists because of limited opportunities for polygyny. As expected, there is considerable aggression between males and between females, competing for mates. Many males are unable to find a social mate, which can be attributed to male-biased breeding sex ratio, social monogamy, and the frequency of extra-pair paternity. Acquisition of a social mate is an essential element of a male's fitness, thus social mating success plays a significant role in variable selection of male traits.

Sexual selection in lark buntings is particularly interesting, as female mate choice is radically different from year to year. In different years, females show preference based on males' black coloring, size of wing patch, size of beak, as well as other characteristics. The consequence of this extreme variation of female choice from year to year is the maintenance of genetic variation in several different male sexual ornaments. A study measures body color, proportion of black versus brown feathers on rump and rest of body, wing patch size, wing patch color, body size, beak size, and residual mass, in order to evaluate the multiple characteristics potentially selected on by females. Social pairing success was measured as well as total annual fitness, finding female choice as the primary factor. Plasticity in female choice is favored for adapting to changes in ecological and social environments.

Temporal flexibility in female choice parallels the phenomenon seen in Darwin's finches, with different beak sizes and shapes favored for changing food supply over years, defined as temporal selection in the context of natural selection. In lark buntings, a trait that is positively selected upon one year was likely negatively selected against in a previous year. These dramatic fluctuations highlight the importance of looking at sexual selection patterns over an extended period of time before drawing any conclusions. By looking at short time periods, however, it possible to identify female preference annually, however it is difficult to make any extrapolations for these assessments. An additional consequence of variation of female choice annually is the potential elimination of phenotypic selection for male trait exaggeration.

Males are characterized as weakly territorial prior to mating, however, there has been some evidence on territory features correlating with female settlement, thus female reproductive success. Studies have shown that shade is an important resource for female reproductive success. As a fitness-limiting feature, it would be reasonable to expect this could account for any existing tendencies for males being territorial. However, levels of male aggression do not change, which lends to the conclusion that female choice corresponds with changes in fitness-indicator traits. Extra-pair mating has been corresponded with nesting site quality, adding further characterization to male aggression. Many studies have showed territory characteristics as important for mate acquisition, however a recent study shows evidence of its decreased role comparatively to female choice.

Feeding
Lark buntings primarily forage on the ground, mainly eating insects in summer and seeds in winter; they sometimes take short flights in pursuit of insects. Outside of the nesting season, they often feed in flocks.

State bird
The lark bunting has been the state bird of Colorado since 1931.

Status
There has been a decrease in population with the loss of natural prairie habitat.

Theses

 * Chaine AS. Ph.D. (2006). The evolution of multiple sexual signals in a passerine: Trait structure and selection in a dynamic world. University of California, Santa Cruz, United States—California.
 * Pleszczynska W. Ph.D. (1978). Polygyny in the lark bunting. University of Toronto (Canada), Canada.
 * Yackel Adams AA. Ph.D. (2005). Population demography of lark buntings: Post-fledging survival, fecundity, and breeding decisions. Colorado State University, United States—Colorado.

Articles
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 * Adams AAY, Skagen SK & Savidge JA. (2006). Modeling post-fledging survival of Lark Buntings in response to ecological and biological factors. Ecology. vol 87, no 1. pp. 178–188.
 * Ashe VM & Taylor S. (1973). An Ethographic Analysis of the Flight Display of the Male Lark Bunting Calamospiza-Melanocorys Passeriformes Fringillidae. American Zoologist. vol 13, no 4.
 * Baldwin PH, Butterfield JD, Creighton PD & Shook R. (1971). Summer Ecology of the Lark Bunting Pawnee Site. Us Ibp. vol 1, no 1.
 * Bliese JCW & Einemann LL. (1970). Lark Bunting. Nebraska Bird Review. vol 38, no 4.
 * Bock CE & Bock JH. (1987). Avian Habitat Occupancy Following Fire in a Montana USA Shrubsteppe. Prairie Naturalist. vol 19, no 3. pp. 153–158.
 * Burford FC. (1971). Lark Bunting at Pea Island North-Carolina. Chat. vol 35, no 2.
 * Carson RJ & Spicer GS. (2003). A phylogenetic analysis of the emberizid sparrows based on three mitochondrial genes. Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution. vol 29, no 1. pp. 43–57.
 * Clancey PA. (1989). Subspeciation in the Lark-Like Bunting of the Southwestern Afrotropics. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. vol 109, no 3. pp. 130–134.
 * Creighton PD. (1971). Nesting of the Lark Bunting in North Central Colorado. Us Ibp. vol 1, no 4.
 * Easterla DA. (1970). 1st Nesting Colonies of the Lark Bunting in Missouri. Wilson Bulletin. vol 82, no 4. pp. 465–466.
 * Hallet ML. (1973). A Lark Bunting in Milwaukee County. Passenger Pigeon. vol 35, no 1.
 * Hill RA. (1976). Host Parasite Relationships of the Brown-Headed Cowbird in a Prairie Habitat of West Central Kansas USA. Wilson Bulletin. vol 88, no 4. pp. 555–565.
 * Jehle G, Adams AAY, Savidge JA & Skagen SK. (2004). Nest survival estimation: A review of alternatives to the Mayfield estimator. Condor. vol 106, no 3. pp. 472–484.
 * Johnson DH & Igl LD. (1995). Contributions of the conservation reserve program to populations of breeding birds in North Dakota. Wilson Bulletin. vol 107, no 4. pp. 709–718.
 * Johnson RR. (1968). 1968 Lark Bunting Sightings in Northeastern South-Dakota USA. South Dakota Bird Notes. vol 22, no 4.
 * Jones ZF & Bock CE. (2002). Conservation of grassland birds in an urbanizing landscape: A historical perspective. Condor. vol 104, no 3. pp. 643–651.
 * Kantrud HA & Kologiski RL. (1982). Effects of Soils and Grazing on Breeding Birds of Uncultivated Upland Grasslands of the Northern Great Plains USA. U S Fish & Wildlife Service Wildlife Research Report. vol 15, pp. 1–33.
 * Lerg JM. (1976). Lark Bunting in Missaukee County. Jack Pine Warbler. vol 54, no 1.
 * Lima SL. (1990). Protective Cover and the Use of Space Different Strategies in Finches. Oikos. vol 58, no 2. pp. 151–158.
 * Lokemoen JT & Koford RR. (1996). Using candlers to determine the incubation stage of passerine eggs. Journal of Field Ornithology. vol 67, no 4. pp. 660–668.
 * McNair DB & Dean JP. (2003). Distributional information on birds from egg sets collected by Henry Rogers Durkee in 1870 in southwestern Wyoming. Western North American Naturalist. vol 63, no 3. pp. 320–332.
 * McNeil R & Doyon D. (1970). Lark Bunting in Quebec. Canadian Field Naturalist. vol 84, no 4.
 * Miles M. (1969). 1st Specimen of the Lark Bunting from Alabama. Auk. vol 86, no 4.
 * Nero RW. (1982). Post Copulatory Display in the Lark Bunting Calamospiza-Melanocorys and Other Species. Wilson Bulletin. vol 94, no 4. pp. 585–590.
 * Nero RW. (1993). Lark bunting: Western prairie marvel. Blue Jay. vol 51, no 1. pp. 30–33.
 * Peterson AT & Cohoon KP. (1999). Sensitivity of distributional prediction algorithms to geographic data completeness. Ecological Modelling. vol 117, no 1. pp. 159–164.
 * Pleszczynska W & Hansell RIC. (1980). Polygyny and Decision Theory Testing of a Model in Lark Buntings Calamospiza-Melanocorys. American Naturalist. vol 116, no 6. pp. 821–830.
 * Pleszczynska WK. (1978). Micro Geographic Prediction of Polygyny in the Lark Bunting. Science. vol 201, no 4359. pp. 935–937.
 * Pleszczynska WK. (1978). MICROGEOGRAPHIC PREDICTION OF POLYGYNY IN LARK BUNTING. Science. vol 201, no 4359. pp. 935–937.
 * Sealy SG. (1999). Cowbird parasitism on Lark Buntings: Frequency, acceptance, and fledging. Journal of Field Ornithology. vol 70, no 2. pp. 182–186.
 * Siljenberg AM. (1969). Lark Bunting in Clay County. South Dakota Bird Notes. vol 22, no 3.
 * Skagen SK, Adams AAY & Adams RD. (2005). Nest survival relative to patch size in a highly fragmented shortgrass prairie landscape. Wilson Bulletin. vol 117, no 1. pp. 23–34.
 * Spicer GS. (1978). A New Species and Several New Host Records of Avian Nasal Mites Acarina Rhinonyssinae Turbinoptinae. Journal of Parasitology. vol 64, no 5. pp. 891–894.
 * Squires JR, Anderson SH & Oakleaf R. (1989). Food Habits of Nesting Prairie Falcons in Campbell County Wyoming USA. Journal of Raptor Research. vol 23, no 4. pp. 157–161.
 * Sterner RT, Petersen BE, Gaddis SE, Tope KL & Poss DJ. (2003). Impacts of small mammals and birds on low-tillage, dryland crops. Crop Protection. vol 22, no 4. pp. 595–602.
 * Taylor S & Ashe VM. (1976). The Flight Display and Other Behaviors of Male Lark Buntings Calamospiza-Melanochorys. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society. vol 7, no 6. pp. 527–529.
 * Teuber L. (1969). Lark Bunting in Oxon Hill Maryland USA. Atlantic Naturalist. vol 24, no 2.
 * Tyler JD. (1985). The Lark Bunting Calamospiza-Melanocorys in Oklahoma USA. Bulletin of the Oklahoma Ornithological Society. vol 18, no 4. pp. 25–28.
 * Wilbur SR, Carrier WD & McCaskie G. (1971). The Lark Bunting in California. California Birds. vol 2, no 2. pp. 73–76.
 * Williams E. (1968). Birds About Milbank South-Dakota USA Scarlet Tanager Avocets Lark Bunting and Redstarts. South Dakota Bird Notes. vol 22, no 4.
 * Winter SL, Cully JF Jr. & Pontius JS. (2003). Breeding season avifauna of prairie dog colonies and non-colonized areas in shortgrass prairie. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science. vol 106, no 3-4. pp. 129–138.
 * Winterbottom JM. (1972). Status of the Lark-Like Bunting in the South-West Cape. Ostrich. vol 43, no 2.
 * With KA & Webb DR. (1993). Microclimate of ground nests: The relative importance of radiative cover and wind breaks for three grassland species. Condor. vol 95, no 2. pp. 401–413.
 * Wunder BA. (1979). Evaporative Water Loss from Birds Effects of Artificial Radiation. Comparative Biochemistry & Physiology A. vol 63, no 4. pp. 493–494.
 * Yackel Adams AA, Skagen SK & Adams RD. (2001). Movements and survival of Lark Bunting fledglings. Condor. vol 103, no 3. pp. 643–647.
 * Zimmerman JL. (1996). Comparison of water consumption between two grassland emberizids. Prairie Naturalist. vol 27, no 4. pp. 215–221.