Lark
Sparrow
(Chondestesgrammacus)
Photographed in the wild, Tucson, Arizona Mar 2010
Unlike many songbirds, the Lark
Sparrow walks on the ground rather than hops. It hops only during courtship. A courting male Lark Sparrow crouches
on the ground, holds his tail up at a 45 degree angle from the ground, spreads
the tail feathers to show off the white tips, and then struts with its wings
drooping so that the wingtips nearly touch the ground. When the female is receptive,
the male gives her a small twig just before copulation.
The Lark Sparrow often takes over old
mockingbird or thrasher nests instead of building its own. Occasionally the
eggs and young of two species are found in the same nest, suggesting that the
Lark Sparrow shares the nest with the other bird.
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