The Field Marks JournalField marks, habitats, and bird identification

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Open-Country Birds

Field cards gathered under the habitat of Open-Country Birds.

Open-Country Birds How to Tell a Meadowlark's Song from a Bobolink's Bubbling

Icteridae (meadowlarks); Icteridae (bobolink)

Meadowlarks: 8.5–11 in (22–28 cm), wingspan 13–16 in (33–41 cm). Bobolink: 6.3–8.3 in (16–21 cm), wingspan 10–12 in (25–30 cm).

Meadowlarks: native grasslands, prairies, pastures, hayfields, and open savannas. Bobolink: damp meadows, hayfields, and prairies with tall grasses and forbs.

Meadowlark: clear, plaintive whistles, often a slurred 'see-you' or 'spring-of-the-year'; also a dry chatter. Bobolink: bubbling, metallic song, often transcribed as 'bob-o-link' or 'spink-spank-spink'; flight song is a continuous jumble of notes.

Meadowlarks and Bobolinks are open-country songbirds that often share the same meadows and grasslands, yet their songs and appearances are strikingly different. Open-Country Birds Where Barn Swallows Gather Mud and How to Follow Them to a Nest

Hirundinidae (swallows and martins)

Approximately 15–20 cm (6–8 in) in length; wingspan about 29–32 cm (11.5–12.5 in)

Open country near buildings, barns, bridges, and other structures for nesting; forages over fields, meadows, wetlands, and water

A soft, continuous twittering and a sharp 'tswit-tswit' alarm; song is a long, liquid, twittering warble

The Barn Swallow is one of the most familiar and widespread swallows in the world, instantly recognizable by its deeply forked tail and agile, swooping flight. Open-Country Birds Why the Northern Shrike Is a Songbird That Hunts Like a Hawk

Laniidae (shrikes)

Approximately 9–10 inches (23–25 cm) in length; wingspan about 13–14 inches (33–36 cm)

Open country: grasslands, meadows, agricultural fields, sagebrush plains, and edges of wetlands with scattered shrubs, fences, and utility lines for perching

Harsh, raspy calls and a varied song of squeaks, trills, and mimicry; often silent outside the breeding season

The Northern Shrike is a songbird that hunts like a hawk.

Other habitats

Backyard Birds 3 field cards Birds of Prey 3 field cards Waterbirds 3 field cards Woodland Birds 3 field cards Open-Country Birds 3 field cards