There are several display boards in the Peck Road Park to show the animals and plants in the park. If you go to iNaturalist.org to find a place, you can also see a lot of animals and plants that others have seen there. I often walk in the park in the mood for treasure hunting and hope to see the creatures on the list that I have never seen before. I saw the western meadowlark on the sand near the lake. Its color is close to sandy so it is hard to notice it. I took a couple of photos. When I got home, I realized that this was one of the birds I wanted to look for. I was quite happy. The western meadowlark has distinctive calls described as watery or flute-like. They are often more easily heard than seen. In spring, males establish territories and chase intruders away in “pursuit flights” that can last up to 3 minutes. You may see males competing over territorial boundaries perform a “jump flight,” springing straight up into the air several feet and fluttering their wings over their back with their legs hanging limp below. Male Western Meadowlarks can spend up to a month establishing and defending a breeding territory before females arrive. Successful males typically mate with two females during the breeding season, bringing food to the nest once the chicks are hatched and noisily chasing intruders away. The western meadowlark is the state bird of six states: Montana, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, and Wyoming.
佩克路公園有好幾個看板，展示著公園裏有的動物及植物。如果你去iNaturalist.org 去找地方，也可以看到一大堆別人在這地方看到的動物及植物。我常常抱著尋寶的心情去公園走路，希望能看到在名單上但以前從未看到過的生物。西草地鷚是我在靠湖邊的沙地上無意間看到的，由於它的顏色近於沙土色，並不容易注意到它。我照了相，回家後才知道這是我想尋找的鳥之一，頗高興的。西草地鷚有獨特的笛子般的叫聲。通常聽到它們的叫聲比看到它們更容易。在春季雄鳥建立地盤並以“追逐飛行”將入侵者趕走，追逐飛行可持續長達3分鐘。您可能會看到雄鳥用“跳躍飛行”來爭奪地盤，直升空中飛了幾英尺，雙翼在其背後垂下，雙翅拍打著背。在雌鳥到達之前，雄的西草地鷚可能會花多達一個月的時間來建立和捍衛繁殖區。一帆風順的雄鳥通常在繁殖季節可與兩名雌鳥交配，雛鳥被孵化後，雄鳥會將食物帶到巢中，並大聲追趕入侵者。西草地鷚是蒙大拿州、堪薩斯州、內布拉斯加州、北達科他州、俄勒岡州及懷俄明州的州鳥。
Image Gallery-Click to enlarge 圖片庫-點擊放大
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When I was looking for old photos of other things on December 24, 2020, I saw these pictures of Western meadowlark (taken on 2018.12.08). I did not know that I had already photographed them before I learned about this bird.
我在2020.12.24找其他東西的舊照片時，居然看到這幾張西草地鷚的照片(攝於2018.12.08)，所以在我還不認識這種鳥時，已經照到它們了。
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Notes 筆記
- The western meadowlark is a medium-sized icterid bird, about 8.5 in (22 cm) in length.
- The western meadowlark was formally described in 1844 by the American ornithologist John James Audubon. The specific epithet is from the Latin neglectus meaning “ignored”, “overlooked”, “neglected” or “disregarded”.
- The breeding habitats of western meadowlarks are grasslands, prairies, pastures, and abandoned fields across western and central North America.
- These birds forage on the ground or in low to semi-low vegetation. It feeds mostly on bugs, but will also feed on seeds and berries.
- The western meadowlark has distinctive calls described as watery or flute-like. They are often more easily heard than seen.
- In spring, males establish territories and chase intruders away in “pursuit flights” that can last up to 3 minutes. You may see males competing over territorial boundaries perform a “jump flight,” springing straight up into the air several feet and fluttering their wings over their back with their legs hanging limp below. Male Western Meadowlarks can spend up to a month establishing and defending a breeding territory before females arrive. Successful males typically mate with two females during the breeding season, bringing food to the nest once the chicks are hatched and noisily chasing intruders away.
- The eggs hatch over a period of one or two days after being incubated by the female for 13–15 days. Only the female broods the chicks. The nestlings are almost exclusively fed insects. The male brings food to the nest which is then usually fed to the chicks by the female. The young fledge at 10-12 day but are only capable of sustained flight at around 21 days.
- The western meadowlark is the state bird of six states: Montana, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, and Wyoming.
- 西草地鷚是一種中型黃鳥，長約22公分（8.5英寸）。
- 美國鳥類學家約翰·詹姆斯·奧杜邦（John James Audubon）於1844年正式描述了西草地鷚。“neglectus” 的種小名來自拉丁語，為“被忽略”或“被忽視”的意思。
- 西草地鷚的繁殖棲息地是橫跨北美西部和中部的草地，草原，牧場和荒地。
- 西草地鷚在地面或在低或半低的植物中覓食。它主要以蟲子為食，但也以種子和漿果為食。
- 西草地鷚有獨特的笛子般的叫聲。通常聽到它們的叫聲比看到它們更容易。
- 在春季雄鳥建立地盤並以“追逐飛行”將入侵者趕走，追逐飛行可持續長達3分鐘。您可能會看到雄鳥用“跳躍飛行”來爭奪地盤，直升空中飛了幾英尺，雙翼在其背後垂下，雙翅拍打著背。在雌鳥到達之前，雄的西草地鷚可能會花多達一個月的時間來建立和捍衛繁殖區。一帆風順的雄鳥通常在繁殖季節可與兩名雌鳥交配，雛鳥被孵化後，雄鳥會將食物帶到巢中，並大聲追趕入侵者。
- 雌鳥在13-15天孵蛋後，蛋會在一兩天孵化。只有雌鳥孵雛鳥。雛鳥幾乎都是餵食昆蟲。雄鳥將食物帶到巢中，然後通常是雌鳥餵給雛鳥。幼鳥在10-12天時開始飛行，但只能在21天左右後才能持續地飛行。
- 西草地鷚是蒙大拿州、堪薩斯州、內布拉斯加州、北達科他州、俄勒岡州及懷俄明州的州鳥。
References 參考資料
- Wikipedia: Western meadowlark
- All about birds: Western Meadowlark
Birds Posts 鳥的帖子