On arid plains these handsome birds sing among sagebrush. Where grassland flourishes they are equally at home and their sweet melodious notes hold the listener entranced. The concert usually starts from a perch but the vehemence and exhilaration of the performer carries his quivering body aloft where it increases in strength and tempo until the bird's vitality is exhausted and he sinks back to earth. They are friendly and universally beloved everywhere within their wide prairie domain.
Central United States, east of Great Plains. South in Winter to Gulf coast, Florida and Texas.