If you see something move in the trees and it is lime yellow with black wings, it is probably a western meadowlark. It has a lime yellow belly, black wings and a V shaped black bib on its neck. The western meadowlark forages for food in the winter. It feeds on insects and seeds. Meadowlarks are a year-round bird. They fly in small flocks. They nest deep in the grass. They lay 3 to 7 eggs in a nest in May through June. They sit on their nests most of the day and blend in with the grass pretty well. They can get up to 8 inches long and 6 inches tall. They sound like melting ice when they sing.

Illustration (right) by Donovan

I got my information from COLORADO WILDLIFE by Jeff Rennicke.

The western meadowlark is found from southern British Columbia to central Mexico. It's hard to tell the western from the eastern meadowlark. They both perch on fence posts in open fields and sing gurgling flute-like whistle notes. They are both best seen when taking off and landing. The meadowlark has a black V on its chest and white feathers on each side of its tail. The meadowlark's size is 7 1/2 to 9 1/2 inches [19-24cm]. It is almost the size of a robin. When flying, the meadowlark finds a breeze and floats on it and then starts flapping its wings. The western meadowlark claims its territory with a kind of song. Its nest is on the ground and hidden in tall grasses. The western meadowlark lays three to seven eggs between May and June. It blends in with its nest. It spends two weeks with its young. It eats grain and insects. They are mostly identified by their songs which have 7 to 10 gurgling notes. The western meadowlark's scientific name is Sturnella Neglecta.

Books I used were AMERICAN BIRDS by Roland C. Clement, BIRD WATCHING by Rob Hume and THE NATURE COMPANY GUIDE by Joseph Forshaw.