Laura Erickson's For the Birds

The state bird of Colorado is unique in the sparrow family—the only one in which the male goes from a very striking black and white breeding plumage to a drab winter plumage. Lark Buntings once bred in southwestern Minnesota, sporadically between 1879 and 1964; the species appears here and there in the state during migration, but is declining dangerously in its normal range, and sightings in the Midwest are growing rarer.