Distinctive flight style alternates rapid bursts of wingbeats with stiff-winged glides. Where and When to Look Meadowlarks are best located in spring, when territorial males loudly proclaim their presence. They inhabit the eastern half of North America from southern Canada south to the Gulf Coast, through Central America, to northern South America. Flocks of up to 200 birds can be seen wintering in the Deep South. Courtship and Nesting Behavior Males arrive on territory two to four weeks before females.
Mates pair up immediately upon females' arrival, and males guard mates against interloping birds.
Females alone construct the oven-shaped, domed grass nest, which is well concealed in dense vegetation, often tucked into a tussock base or in a shallow depression. For two weeks, she incubates the five white, heavily speckled eggs alone, but both sexes feed and care for the young. Young remain in the nest for 10 to 12 days, and fledge running strongly, but as yet unable to fly. Sustained flight is reached by day 21.