The eastern meadowlark (''Sturnella magna'') is a medium-sized blackbird (family:

Icteridae Icterids () or New World blackbirds make up a family, the Icteridae (), of small to medium-sized, often colorful, New World passerine birds. Most species have black as a predominant plumage color, often enlivened by yellow, orange, or red. Th ...

), very similar in appearance to

sister species In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

western meadowlark The western meadowlark (''Sturnella neglecta'') is a medium-sized icterid bird, about in length. It nests on the ground in open grasslands across western and central North America. It feeds mostly on bugs, but will also feed on seeds and berri ...

. It occurs from eastern North America to northern South America, where it is also most widespread in the east. The

Chihuahuan meadowlark Chihuahuan meadowlark (''Sturnella lilianae''), also known as Lilian's meadowlark, is a bird in the family Icteridae. It is found in northern Mexico and the southwestern portion of the United States. It was formerly usually treated as a subspeci ...

was formerly considered to be

conspecific Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species. Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organis ...

with the eastern meadowlark.

Taxonomy

The eastern meadowlark was formally described by the Swedish naturalist

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, ...

in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''

Systema Naturae ' (originally in Latin written ' with the ligature æ) is one of the major works of the Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) and introduced the Linnaean taxonomy. Although the system, now known as binomial ...

''. He placed it with the larks and pipits in the genus ''

Alauda ''Alauda'' is a genus of larks found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species (the Raso lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands. Further, at least two additional species are ...

'' and adopted the

binomial name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bo ...

''Alauda magna''. Linnaeus based his description on the "large lark" that had been described and illustrated in 1729–1732 by the English naturalist

Mark Catesby Mark Catesby (24 March 1683 – 23 December 1749) was an English naturalist who studied the flora and fauna of the New World. Between 1729 and 1747 Catesby published his ''Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands'', the fi ...

. Catesby also used the Latin ''Alauda magna'' but as his book predates the introduction of the binomial system, he is not acknowledged as the authority. Catesby reported that "they inhabit Carolina, Virginia and most of the Northern continent of America." Confusingly, Linnaeus specified the habitat as "America, Africa". The type location was restricted to South Carolina by the American Ornithologist's Union in 1931. The eastern meadowlark is now placed with the

and

in the genus ''

Sturnella The genus ''Sturnella'' are North American grassland birds called meadowlarks. The genus was previously lumped with the South American meadowlarks now placed in the genus '' Leistes''. It includes two or three species of largely insectivorous gr ...

'' that was introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologist

Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot Louis Pierre Vieillot (10 May 1748, Yvetot – 24 August 1830, Sotteville-lès-Rouen) was a French ornithologist. Vieillot is the author of the first scientific descriptions and Linnaean names of a number of birds, including species he collec ...

. The name ''Sturnella'' is a diminutive of the Latin ''sturnus'' meaning "starling". Fourteen subspecies are recognised: * ''S. m. magna'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – southeast Canada and central, east USA * ''S. m. argutula'' Bangs, 1899 – south-central, southeast USA * ''S. m. hoopesi''

Stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

, 1897 – south Texas (south-central USA) and northeast Mexico * ''S. m. saundersi'' Dickerman & Phillips, AR, 1970 – southeast

Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the Federative Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 570 municipaliti ...

(south Mexico) * ''S. m. alticola'' Nelson, 1900 – south Mexico to Costa Rica * ''S. m. mexicana'' Sclater, PL, 1861 – southeast Mexico to Belize and Guatemala * ''S. m. griscomi'' Van Tyne & Trautman, 1941 – north

Yucatán Yucatán (, also , , ; yua, Yúukatan ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán,; yua, link=no, Xóot' Noj Lu'umil Yúukatan. is one of the 31 states which comprise the federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 106 separate mun ...

(southeast Mexico) * ''S. m. inexspectata'' Ridgway, 1888 – Honduras and northeast Nicaragua * ''S. m. subulata'' Griscom, 1934 – Panama * ''S. m. meridionalis'' Sclater, PL, 1861 – north-central Colombia to northwest Venezuela * ''S. m. paralios'' Bangs, 1901 – north Colombia and north, central Venezuela * ''S. m. praticola'' Chubb, C, 1921 –

llanos The Llanos ( Spanish ''Los Llanos'', "The Plains"; ) is a vast tropical grassland plain situated to the east of the Andes in Colombia and Venezuela, in northwestern South America. It is an ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical grassla ...

of east Colombia and southeast Venezuela to Guyana and Suriname * ''S. m. monticola'' Chubb, C, 1921 – montane south Venezuela, the Guianas and north Brazil * ''S. m. hippocrepis'' ( Wagler, 1832) – Cuba The list of subspecies formerly included ''S. m. lilianae'' and ''S. m. auropectoralis''. These are now considered to be a separate species, the

. The split was based on a study published in 2021 that showed that there were significant morphological, vocal and genomic differences between these two taxa and the other subspecies of the eastern meadowlark.

Description

The adult eastern meadowlark measures from in length and spans across the wings. Body mass ranges from . The extended wing bone measures , the tail measures , the culmen measures and the tarsus measures . Females are smaller in all physical dimensions. Adults have yellow underparts with a black "V" on the breast and white flanks with black streaks. The upperparts are mainly brown with black streaks. They have a long pointed bill; the head is striped with light brown and black. The song of this bird is of pure, melancholy whistles, and thus simpler than the jumbled and flutey song of the

; their ranges overlap across central

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

. In the field, the song is often the easiest way to tell the two

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

apart, though plumage differences do exist, like tail pattern and malar coloration. The pale

of northern Mexico and the southwestern US is split off as a separate species.

Distribution and habitat

Their breeding habitat is grasslands and

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

, also pastures and hay fields. This species is a permanent resident throughout much of its range, though most northern birds migrate southwards in winter. In 1993 this species was first recorded in

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south ...

, and the discovery of a breeding pair in 2004 confirmed that the species is a resident there.

Behavior and ecology

Breeding

Nesting occurs throughout the summer months. The nest is also on the ground, covered with a roof woven from grasses. There may be more than one nesting female in a male's territory. Nests are placed on the ground in depressions 1 to 3 inches deep, such as in the hoofprints of cattle, in pastures, meadows, hay fields, and on the edges of marshes. The nests are made of dried grass and plant stems, and are lined with grass

lespedeza ''Lespedeza'' is a genus of some 40 species (including nothospecies) of flowering plants in the pea family (Fabaceae), commonly known as bush clovers or (particularly East Asian species) Japanese clovers (''hagi''). The genus is native to warm t ...

s, pine needles, or horse hair. Eastern meadowlark cuba

Food and feeding

These birds forage on the ground or in low vegetation, sometimes probing with the bill. They mainly eat

arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and cuticle made of chiti ...

s, but also

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosper ...

s and

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, ras ...

. In winter, they often feed in flocks. About three-quarters of the eastern meadowlark's diet is from animal sources like beetles, grasshoppers, and crickets. They also eat grain and seeds.

Conservation status

The numbers of this species increased as forests were cleared in eastern North America. This species is ideally suited to farmland areas, especially where tall grasses are allowed to grow. Their numbers are now shrinking with a decline in suitable

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

. On the other hand, its range is expanding in parts of

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

toward the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

(western) side of the continent, in agricultural-type areas. Eastern meadowlarks are species at risk in Nova Scotia and the subject of agricultural conservation program seeking to reduce mortality through modified practices. Allowing marginal areas of fields on farms to seed with grass can provide nesting habitat for meadowlarks and all grassland birds. Delaying hay harvest can also improve survival, giving young meadowlarks a chance of fledging

Gallery

File:Eastern Meadowlark RWD5.jpg, Juvenile – Panama File:Eastern Meadowlark RWD3.jpg, Adult – Panama File:Sturnella magna MHNT 227 Petersburg (Michigan) HdB 1894.jpg, Eggs of ''Sturnella magna'' MHNT File:Two meadows.jpg, alt=Juvenile and adult – Maine, Juvenile and adult – Maine

References

External links

*
Eastern meadowlark Bird Sound
at Florida Museum of Natural History * {{Taxonbar , from=Q1589550 eastern meadowlark Native birds of Eastern Canada Native birds of the Eastern United States Native birds of the Plains-Midwest (United States) Native birds of the Southwestern United States Birds of the Rio Grande valleys Birds of Central America Birds of Cuba Birds of Colombia Birds of Venezuela Birds of the Guianas eastern meadowlark eastern meadowlark Birds of the Amazon Basin Birds of Brazil