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  Profile

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  In flight

Songbirds

Eastern Meadowlark

Sturnella magna

• rare
• 84 km/h
• Near Threatened

Looks like a sparrow until it turns around — then yellow chest, black V, full operatic mode.

Population

Millions globally, but in long-term steep decline — Cornell/Partners in Flight lists it as a "Common Bird in Steep Decline"; no precise current global count could be retrieved (BirdLife DataZone and IUCN Red List pages are JS-rendered/blocked and returned no numeric figure even via reader-proxy fetch)

Habitat

Grasslands, prairies, pastures, hayfields, and other open farmland

Fun fact

Despite its name, the Eastern Meadowlark is not a lark at all — it's a member of the New World blackbird family (Icteridae), and a single male can sing over 100 different song variations.

Range

Eastern North America from southeastern Canada and the eastern/central United States south through Mexico and Central America to northern South America (Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, and Brazil)

Diet

Mostly insects and other arthropods (beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, caterpillars, grubs) probed from the ground with its long bill; supplements with seeds, spilled grain, and wild fruit, especially in winter

Size

0.23 m

Wingspan

0.38 m

Lifespan

9 years