In fresh fall plumage, note buff tips to feathers obscuring the black necklace. Not actually a lark, meadowlarks are New World blackbirds (Icterids). The scientific name (S. neglecta) was provided by J.J. Audubon noting how neglected the species had been, perhaps because of confusion with the Eastern Meadowlark. The two species of meadowlark are hard to distinguish except by song and call-note. Captive studies have found that F1 hybrids between the two species are fertile but F2 hybrids are sterile. An interesting case of a layered barrier to gene flow. Canon PowerShot SX50 HS.
Reference:
Davis, Stephen K. and Wesley E. Lanyon. (2008). Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta), The Birds of North America (P. G. Rodewald, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America: https://birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/wesmea