"... [the eastern and western meadowlark] cannot be safely distinguished in the field except by song ... The generic meadowlark has a black V-shaped breast band against yellow underparts. The band is sharply defined in breeding plumage but duller and more diffuse in the fall and winter. The dark brown feathers of the upperparts are lighter along the edges to give a streaked appearance ... The eastern meadowlark ... is a year-round resident in the eastern half of Texas, westward to the Panhandle and Austin ... The western meadowlark breeds though ... a range that includes the Panhandle, the Staked Plains and Trans-Pecos Texas. It, too, wanders in winter across the state, although it is rare along the eastern edge."