Distribution

Breeding Range

Desert grasslands of central and southeastern Arizona, central New Mexico, and west Texas south to northeastern Sonora and northern Chihuahua. Several breeding records for both southern Colorado and northern Colorado exist (31 Howell, S. N. G., and S. Webb (1995). A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America. Oxford University Press, New York, NY, USA. Close , 32 Corman, T. E., and C. Wise-Gervais (2005). Arizona Breeding Bird Atlas. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, NM, USA. Close , 33 Benson, K. L. P., and K. A. Arnold (2001). The Texas Breeding Bird Atlas. Texas A&M University System, College Station and Corpus Christi, TX, USA. Close , 23 Leukering, T., and N. Pieplow (2009). Lilian’s Meadowlark: a cryptic species (?) and a rare Colorado breeder. Colorado Birds 43(3):222–228. Close , JKB personal observation).

Resident in west Mexico from southern Sinaloa, coastal Nayarit, and southern Durango into the Trans-Volcanic belt east to Estado de México. The precise limits between this species and Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna) east of Estado de México and south through Oaxaca are undetermined. Birds between Estado de México and the Sierra Madre Oriental, in Tlaxcala and Puebla and adjacent areas, may represent auropectoralis (22) or intergrades with Eastern Meadowlark subspecies (23), but more study is needed.

Nonbreeding Range

Possibly sedentary in much of range, but movements unstudied. Range in Arizona may extend west in winter (34 Rosenberg, K. V., R. D. Ohmart, W. C. Hunter, and B. W. Anderson (1991). Birds of the Lower Colorado River Valley. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ, USA. Close ).

Extralimital Records

Casual north to northern Colorado, with possible records as far northeastern as Point Pelee, Ontario based off of two eBird reports (2016: S29203426; 2022: S107988686). Closer inspection of previous Eastern Meadowlark records in the western United States may reveal more Chihuahuan Meadowlark records. More information is needed on vagrancy patterns.

Chihuahuan Meadowlark has notable northern breeding records in Colorado, hundreds of miles north of its main range in Arizona and New Mexico (23 Leukering, T., and N. Pieplow (2009). Lilian’s Meadowlark: a cryptic species (?) and a rare Colorado breeder. Colorado Birds 43(3):222–228. Close ). This could be part of a northern movement for the taxon, but more study is needed. Changes in distribution have probably been overlooked due to the difficult nature of the identification and its previous status as a subspecies.