The eastern meadowlark (Sturnella magna) is a medium-sized icterid bird, very similar in appearance to its sister species, the western meadowlark. It occurs from eastern North America to northern South America, where it is also most widespread in the east. The Chihuahuan meadowlark was formerly considered to be conspecific with the eastern meadowlark.

Taxonomy

The eastern meadowlark was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with the larks and pipits in the genus Alauda and adopted the binomial name 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. 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 eastern meadowlark is now placed with the western meadowlark and Chihuahuan meadowlark in the genus Sturnella that was introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot. The name Sturnella is a diminutive of the Latin sturnus meaning "starling".

Fourteen subspecies are recognized:

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 western meadowlark; their ranges overlap across central North America. In the field, the song is often the easiest way to tell the two species apart, though plumage differences do exist, like tail pattern and malar coloration. In nonbreeding plumage, eastern meadowlarks tend to have more yellow-brown coloration in their flanks

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. On the other hand, its range is expanding in parts of Central America toward the Pacific (western) side of the continent, in agricultural-type areas. 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 widths="200" heights="150">

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

</gallery>

References

  • Eastern meadowlark Bird Sound at Florida Museum of Natural History

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Books

  • Lanyon, W. E. 1995. Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna). In The Birds of North America, No. 160 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.

Theses

  • Armacost JW, Jr. M.S. (1998). Habitat use by the Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna) in Mississippi. Mississippi State University, United States – Mississippi.
  • Baker DL. M.S. (1988). Responses of bobwhites, eastern meadowlarks, mourning doves, and their habitat to two intensities of continuous grazing. Texas A&I University, United States – Texas.
  • Brown SL. Ph.D. (1988). The maintenance and consequences of polygyny in Eastern Meadowlarks (Sturnella magna). Purdue University, United States – Indiana.
  • Cassell LP. M.S. (2002). Analysis of vocalizations of Lilian's race of the eastern meadowlark (Sturnella magna lilianae) in west Texas. Sul Ross State University, United States – Texas.

Articles

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  • Falls JB & D'Agincourt LG. (1982). Why Do Meadowlarks Switch Song Types?. Canadian Journal of Zoology. vol 60, no 12. pp.&nbsp;3400–3408.
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  • Herkert JR, Reinking DL, Wiedenfeld DA, Winter M, Zimmerman JL, Jensen WE, Finck EJ, Koford RR, Wolfe DH, Sherrod SK, Jenkins MA, Faaborg J & Robinson SK. (2003). Effects of prairie fragmentation on the nest success of breeding birds in the midcontinental United States. Conservation Biology. vol 17, no 2. pp.&nbsp;587–594.
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  • Joseph L. (2001). The type-locality of Sturnella magna quinta Dickerman, 1989: A correction to the original publication. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. vol 121, no 1. pp.&nbsp;69–71.
  • Kershner EL & Bollinger EK. (1996). Reproductive success of grassland birds at East-central Illinois airports. American Midland Naturalist. vol 136, no 2. pp.&nbsp;358–366.
  • Kershner EL, Walk JW & Warner RE. (2004). Breeding-season decisions, renesting, and annual fecundity of female eastern meadowlarks (Sturnella magna) in Southeastern Illinois. Auk. vol 121, no 3. pp.&nbsp;796–805.
  • Kershner EL, Walk JW & Warner RE. (2004). Postfledging movements and survival of juvenile Eastern Meadowlarks (Sturnella magna) in Illinois. Auk. vol 121, no 4. pp.&nbsp;1146–1154.
  • Kinstler KA & Sordahl TA. (1994). A comparison of perch use by vocalizing eastern and western meadowlarks. Prairie Naturalist. vol 26, no 3. pp.&nbsp;195–200.
  • Knapton RW. (1987). Intraspecific Avoidance and Interspecific Overlap of Song Series in the Eastern Meadowlark. Auk. vol 104, no 4. pp.&nbsp;775–779.
  • Knapton RW. (1988). Nesting Success Is Higher for Polygynously Mated Females Than for Monogamously Mated Females in the Eastern Meadowlark. Auk. vol 105, no 2. pp.&nbsp;325–329.
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