meadowlark

/med"oh lahrk'/, n.

any of several American songbirds of the genus Sturnella, of the family Icteridae, esp. S. magna (eastern meadowlark) and S. neglecta (western meadowlark), having a brownish and black back and wings and a yellow breast, noted for their clear, tuneful song.

[1605-15; MEADOW + LARK¹]

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Any sharp-billed, plump songbird of the genus Sturnella (family Icteridae), 8–11 in.

(20–28 cm) long. The two North American species are streaked brown above and have a yellow breast crossed by a black V; the short tail has distinctive white outer feathers. The eastern, or common, meadowlark (S. magna), from eastern Canada to Brazil, has a simple four-note whistle; the western meadowlark (S. neglecta), from western Canada to Mexico, has an intricate fluting song. Meadowlarks eat insects in summer and seeds in fall and winter. Their nests are grass domes hidden in fields.

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▪ bird

 any member of the genus Sturnella, belonging to the family Icteridae (order Passeriformes). Meadowlarks are sharp-billed plump birds, 20 to 28 cm (8 to 11 inches) long. The two species in North America look alike: streaked brown above, with yellow breast crossed by a black V and a short tail with distinctive white outer feathers. The eastern, or common, meadowlark (S. magna) ranges from eastern Canada to Brazil, the western meadowlark (S. neglecta; see photograph—>) from western Canada to Mexico (introduced to Hawaii). The former has a simple four-note whistle and the latter an intricate fluting. Meadowlarks consume insects in summer and weed seeds in fall and winter. The nest is a grass dome hidden in a field.

      The red-breasted meadowlark (Pezites militaris), which occurs from Ecuador southward, and a subtropical relative (P. defilippi) are sometimes grouped with red-breasted blackbirds blackbird.

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