For our state bird, lark buntings really aren’t all that common anymore. Yesterday I happened across a few males hanging out as they foraged along the ground. Kind of neat looking birds with that black and the bit of white.
I have only seen them a few times although they are found in the summers in the state’s lower elevations. Someone pointed out to me yesterday when I remarked how they aren’t seen often that it wasn’t always that way.
Their populations have declined nearly 90% in the past 40 years. It is theorized that loss of habitat in their summer ranges like here in Colorado and in their winter residences in desert grasslands are the reason.
