Conservation and Management

Chihuahuan Meadowlark has not been considered a separate species by BirdLife International, and thus has not had its conservation status evaluated under IUCN Red List criteria. The species is declining in New Mexico and the Chihuahuan Desert (53 Arizona Bird Conservation Initiative and Sonoran Joint Venture. 2019. Eastern “Lilian’s” Meadowlark (Sturnella magna lilianae) Species Account. Close ). Threats to this species include land development, invasive species, agriculture, and climate change (53 Arizona Bird Conservation Initiative and Sonoran Joint Venture. 2019. Eastern “Lilian’s” Meadowlark (Sturnella magna lilianae) Species Account. Close ). More study is needed.

Chihuahuan Meadowlark is sensitive to land development and land use change. Land development projects, such as the formation of new ranches, houses, or commercial buildings, fragments the land into smaller pieces that may be too small to be useful for nesting meadowlarks.

Agricultural practices that directly affect breeding populations include degradation of suitable habitat, grazing and trampling by livestock, mortality from early mowing, and use of pesticides and other contaminants. Intensive agriculture is a major contributor to population declines in other meadowlarks, and likely Chihuahuan Meadowlark as well (54 Jobin, B., J. L. DesGranges and C. Boutin. (1996). Population trends in selected species of farmland birds in relation to recent developments in agriculture in the St. Lawrence Valley. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 57 (2-3):103-116. Close , 55 With, K. A., A. W. King and W. E. Jensen. (2008). Remaining large grasslands may not be sufficient to prevent grassland bird declines. Biological Conservation 141 (12):3152-3167. Close ).

Chihuahuan Meadowlark generally prefers nesting in areas with less than 5% woody shrub cover, which includes mesquite, acacia, and juniper (56 Block, G. and M. L. Morrison. (2010). Large-scale effects on bird assemblages in desert grasslands. Western North American Naturalist 70 (1):19-25. Close ). Management of woody shrubs may make the habitat more preferable for meadowlarks (57 Coffman, J. M., B. T. Bestelmeyer, J. F. Kelly, T. F. Wright, and R. L. Schooley (2014). Restoration practices have positive effects on breeding bird species of concern in the Chihuahuan Desert. Restoration Ecology 22 (3):336-344. doi: 10.1111/rec.12081. Close ). Chihuahuan Meadowlarks may avoid recently burned areas (58 Bock, C.E. and Bock, J.H. (1992). Response of birds to wildfire in native versus exotic Arizona grassland. Southwestern Naturalist. 37: 73-81. Close ). Management of cattle grazing and agriculture may also help nesting success, but more research is needed in this area (59 Bock, C.E. and Webb, B. (1984). Birds as grazing indicator species in southeastern Arizona. Journal of Wildlife Management. 48(3): 1045-1049. Close ).