What Is North Dakota’s State Bird? (Quick Guide)

North Dakota's state bird is the Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta). It was officially designated by the Thirtieth Legislative Assembly on March 10, 1947, and is written directly into the North Dakota Century Code (Section 54-02-03). If you're thinking of South Dakota, that's a different bird entirely, the ring-necked pheasant. Easy mix-up, but they look nothing alike.

How to recognize the Western Meadowlark

The Western Meadowlark is a medium-sized songbird, about 9.5 inches long with a wingspan of roughly 14.5 inches and weighing around 3.4 ounces. The field mark you want to lock onto is the bold black 'V' on a bright yellow breast. It's impossible to miss when the bird is facing you. The upperparts are streaked brown, black, and buff, which provides camouflage in grassland habitats, but that yellow belly gives it away the moment it turns around or lifts into flight.

In winter, the yellow can look a bit grayer and the black 'V' fades slightly, but the bird is still identifiable. Males will also display that chest marking prominently during courtship. Beyond looks, the meadowlark's song is one of the most distinctive in the Great Plains: a loud, flute-like series of whistles that carries across open fields. If you hear it before you see it, you'll know you're in the right territory.

In North Dakota, you'll find Western Meadowlarks primarily from March through early November. They favor open grasslands, planted or tame grasslands, haylands, CRP fields, and field edges. Drive through rural North Dakota in spring and you'll almost certainly spot one perched on a fence post, singing.

Scientific name and key facts at a glance

Why North Dakota chose the Western Meadowlark

The Western Meadowlark became North Dakota's official state bird on March 10, 1947, when the Thirtieth Legislative Assembly formally adopted it. The choice made a lot of sense for the state. North Dakota is defined by its vast open prairies and agricultural landscapes, and the Western Meadowlark is one of the most visible and audible birds across those exact habitats. It was already a beloved, familiar sight to residents long before the designation was made official.

The meadowlark's connection to working farm and ranch land also resonated culturally. Farmers and rural families had grown up with its song marking the seasons. Designating it as the state bird was less a discovery and more a formal recognition of something people already associated with North Dakota's identity. The bird is also a species of conservation concern today, with North Dakota Game and Fish highlighting concerns about post-fledgling survival, breeding site fidelity, nest success, and adult survival tied to grassland habitat health.

North Dakota vs. South Dakota: clearing up the confusion

Because people often search for both state birds in the same sitting, it's worth being direct: North Dakota and South Dakota have completely different state birds. North Dakota's is the Western Meadowlark, a songbird. South Dakota's is the ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus), a large game bird. South Dakota adopted the ring-necked pheasant on February 13, 1943, making it actually an older designation than North Dakota's.

Visually, there's no real risk of confusing them once you know what to look for. The ring-necked pheasant is a large, long-tailed bird. Males have a striking iridescent green head and a bright white collar (the 'ring' in the name), plus a long barred tail. It's a bird you'd recognize from a distance as a game species. The Western Meadowlark is much smaller, rounder, and built like a classic songbird. Two completely different silhouettes, two completely different habitats.

Six states share the Western Meadowlark

North Dakota is not the only state that chose the Western Meadowlark. It's actually one of the most shared state birds in the country. Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, and Wyoming all claim it too, making six states total. If you're wondering which bird Nebraska selected, it's the same Western Meadowlark shared across several Great Plains states. That's a reflection of just how broadly the bird is distributed across the Great Plains and into the West, and how deeply it's embedded in regional identity across multiple states. If you're curious about neighboring states, both Montana and Nebraska share North Dakota's state bird, which makes the meadowlark a kind of unofficial symbol of the northern Great Plains. For more on Montana specifically, see what Montana chose as its state bird what is montana's state bird.

Where to go from here

If you landed here while also wondering about South Dakota's state bird, the ring-necked pheasant has its own interesting backstory worth exploring. Montana and Nebraska are also natural next lookups since they share the Western Meadowlark with North Dakota, and it's interesting to compare why each state independently landed on the same bird. Nevada also has the mountain bluebird as its state bird, which stands in sharp contrast to the meadowlark states and shows how differently western states approached their designations. Nevada chose the mountain bluebird as its state bird for reasons tied to the species' presence in the state Nevada also has the mountain bluebird. Nevada's state bird is the mountain bluebird, so it's worth understanding what makes that species distinct. If you're specifically trying to confirm what Nevada chose, the bird of Nevada is the mountain bluebird what is the bird of nevada.

• South Dakota's state bird: the ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus), adopted 1943
• Montana's state bird: Western Meadowlark, same species as North Dakota
• Nebraska's state bird: Western Meadowlark, another shared designation
• Nevada's state bird: mountain bluebird, a contrasting Great Basin choice
• Total states with Western Meadowlark as state bird: six (Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, Wyoming)