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Very Weird Meadowlark Behavior on Dairyland Road



I was out on Dairyland Road this morning about 8:30 AM to see the bobolinks (which were great by the way) and I saw 2 meadowlarks struggling on the ground.  They were about 10 feet from the car and I saw they were grappling with each other's feet and pecking at each other.  The meadowlarks were lying on their sides on the ground, beak to beak, sort of propelling themselves by their wings around in a circle for at least 3 minutes.  I got worried that they were tangled up in something, so I decided to get out of the car and try to help them.  That must have alarmed them because they split up.  I found no evidence of prey or twine or anything that could explain what they were doing.  Any ideas?  Could this have been mating behavior gone wrong or a territorial dispute?
 
Connie Raper
Durham, NC