Eastern meadowlarks are not true larks; rather they belong to the same family as blackbirds and orioles (Icteridae). There are about 18 recognized subspecies of the eastern meadowlark.
The decline of the S. magna populations could be partially due to the industrialization of agriculture, which increases the likelihood of a nest being destroyed by the agricultural machinery and the increased use of row crops which are an unsuitable habitat for these birds. Another possible cause of the decline is apparent predation by cattle. Cattle have been documented destroying nests, sometimes by accident but also by crushing eggs and nestlings with their muzzles and by removing nestlings from the nests.
The songs of S. magna are one of the first birdsongs of spring. Sturnella magna have a variety of vocal communications. There are begging notes, location notes, dzert, whistle, chatter, weet, primary song, flight song, female song, zeree, and tee-tee-tee. Nestlings and recently fledged juveniles use begging and location notes, which are simple high-pitched notes. These notes enable the parents to find and feed their young. The dzert call indicates mild disturbance. The whistle indicates intense excitement in males or females, such as the presence of a predator, just before a flight song, or immediately after an aerial chase or copulation. Both sexes use the chatter call to indicate excitement such as the presence of a predator or intruder. Females also chatter after copulation and in response to their mates’ primary song. Only males use the primary song, which sounds like seee-yeee, seee-yer. In the courtship period, female S. magna use the female song, during early morning preening. The alarm call of the eastern meadowlark is a short buzzy, dzert.
Posturing and aerial chases are used to attract and pursue possible mates. Jump-flights are used to ward off males that are intruding on another male’s territory. Bill-tilting and tail- and wing-flashing are used in territorial disputes, as is expansion posturing. Expansion posturing is when individuals extend their contour feathers, spread the tail, and draws the head close to the body. Female S. magna use expansion posturing to warn off its mate when the female is unreceptive. If expansion posturing does not succeed in warning off the male, the female will hold its feathers tight against its body and point its gaping bill at the male. Male eastern meadowlarks also use expansion posturing after the formation of the pair bond.
Communication Channels: visual ; acoustic
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
According to the IUCN Red List, the U.S. Federal List, and the State of Michigan List, eastern meadowlarks have no special status. They are not threatened, likely to become threatened, or endangered. This agrees with the Audubon Society's assessment of S. magna. Eastern meadowlarks fall into the Audubon Society's green conservation status, which means that it is of low or no conservation concern. However, S. magna populations have been experiencing a significant population decline, declining by as much as 50% since 1966.
US Migratory Bird Act: no special status
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
Sturnella species eat kernels of sprouting grain, which can destroy portions of newly planted crops.
Negative Impacts: crop pest
Sturnella magna eat insects that are crop pests, therefore they act to control pest populations that impact crops.
Positive Impacts: controls pest population
Eastern meadowlarks are prey for larger predators and they prey on a variety of insects, including grubs and caterpillars, which could damage the surrounding vegetation. They also act to disperse the sees of plants they eat. Sturnella magna serves as a host for a variety of internal and external parasites, and for brown-headed cowbirds. Brown-headed cowbirds are obligate parasites, which lay eggs in the nests of other species of birds.
Ecosystem Impact: disperses seeds; biodegradation ; soil aeration
Commensal/Parasitic Species:
Eastern meadowlarks walk and run on the ground while foraging for food, they also forage by probing beneath the soil. Their diet varies with the season. In the spring they feed mainly on cutworms, grubs, and caterpillars. When summer comes they eat insects, primarily beetles and grasshoppers. In the winter they eat noxious weed seeds and waste grains as well as some wildfruits and occasional carrion from road-kill or predator-kills.
Animal Foods: carrion ; insects
Plant Foods: seeds, grains, and nuts; fruit
Primary Diet: carnivore (Insectivore ); herbivore (Granivore )
Sturnella magna is found in the eastern United States, as well as parts of the southwest U.S. and Central America. The summer breeding range includes parts of southern Canada.
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native ); neotropical (Native )
Eastern meadowlarks breed in native grasslands, pastures, savannas, alfalfa and hay fields, cropland borders, roadsides, orchards, golf courses, airports, reclaimed strip mines, overgrown fields, and other open areas. In the western range, the breeding range also consists of tall-grass prairies and desert grassland. In the winter they are generally found in open country, cultivated fields, feedlots, and marshes. Eastern meadowlarks are generally found in habitats that are more mesic than their close relative, western meadowlarks (S. neglecta).
Habitat Regions: temperate ; tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland
Other Habitat Features: suburban ; agricultural
Eastern meadowlarks have an expected lifespan of five years in the wild, which is the same as the high end of its expected lifespan in captivity. The longest know lifespan in the wild is nine years.
Range lifespan
Status: wild: 9 (high) years.
Average lifespan
Status: wild: 5 years.
Typical lifespan
Status: captivity: 3 to 5 years.
Average lifespan
Status: wild: 151 months.
Eastern meadowlarks are medium-sized songbirds, with long, slender, light gray bills and dark brown eyes. The tails are short and have rigid rectrices. The legs and toes are long. Male S. magna have grayish heads with blackish stripes, a yellow “eyebrow”, and dark crowns with a median stripe. The wings and tail are streaked and barred with dark and light brown. Males have a broad white moustachial stripe and a yellow chin, which is divided from the underparts by a broad black breast band. The underparts turn off-white on the streaked flanks and under the tail coverts. The pale undertail coverts are streaked and spotted dusky black. Females are similar to males except that they are smaller, paler, and have a narrower breast band. Males are slightly larger than females, from 21 to 25 cm in length, females are from 19 to 23 cm. Juvenile eastern meadowlarks have masked black areas and the white areas are buffish. Juveniles also have more brown plumage in the winter. Eastern meadowlark eggs are white, speckled with reddish-brown. When these birds walk, the tail constantly jerks open. These birds fly by beating their wings vigorously and then gliding.
Range mass: 90 to 150 g.
Range length: 19 to 26 cm.
Range wingspan: 35 to 40 cm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: male larger; sexes colored or patterned differently
Eastern meadowlarks are preyed on by hawks and falcons and occasionally by owls. They are most likely to be preyed upon by owls during the owl’s breeding season. While the owls are raising their young, they are more likely to hunt during daylight hours, in order to catch enough prey to feed the chicks. Hawks and falcons are diurnal, and often hunt in similar habitats. During their nesting season, domestic cats, dogs, foxes, coyotes, and skunks prey upon the eggs and nestlings. Eastern meadowlark coloration helps them to blend in to their grassland surroundings, they can be difficult to spot unless they are on a high perch.
Known Predators:
Anti-predator Adaptations: cryptic
Male eastern meadowlarks are polygynous, with most males having two to three mates. Female S. magna have only one mate per breeding season, provided that the male successfully defends the territory. Males establish their territories approximately two to four weeks before females arrive. Male S. magna display their territories with flight displays and by singing. Female eastern meadowlarks choose their mates by selecting territories, which are defended by males with conspecific vocalizations. Once the pair bond forms the pair remains close together while foraging and searching for nest sites. A male S. magna defends its territory against rivals by fluffing out its plumage and pointing its bill upwards. Males guard their mates from neighboring males by constantly guarding their mate.
Males establish their territories in March, females arrive about two to four weeks later females. Male eastern meadowlarks rarely engage in body contact and fighting when defending their territories, however, when it does occur it can be quite severe. Pairing occurs immediately after females arrive. The "aerial chase" occurs within minutes of a female choosing a male. The female typically initiates the chase, although sometimes the chase includes two females and one male. The aerial chase consists of either a series of short flights or as brief flights interspersed with periods of posturing and rest. Additionally, the male is typically silent during the aerial chase. These chases usually carry the participants well beyond the boundaries of the male’s territory. When a female eastern meadowlark is receptive, she eventually assumes the receptive posture, at which time the male will approach, paw the female’s back and then mount. Afterwards the female remains in a semi-receptive position and flutters and shakes its plumage, chatters several times, then vigorously preens itself. The female receptive posture consists of the female elevating its bill and tail, holding its wings slightly drooped, and quivering, sometimes the female also chatters. Later on in the breeding season "jump-flights" and tee-tee-tee calls may accompany the receptive posture. However, if a male approaches when the female is not receptive, the female will use "expansion posturing" to warn off the male. Also, males and females make jump-flights before and during repeated copulation periods. A jump-flight consists of the bird jumping approximately one meter into the air and then flying several meters. Once the breeding season is over, male S. magna cease defending their territories.
Mating System: polygynous
Female eastern meadowlarks gather nest materials and build the nest. The nest consists of coarse grasses, lined with finer grasses and is constructed on the ground, typically in a shallow depression. The outside diameter of the nest ranges from 14-21 cm, the inside diameter ranges from 8-15 cm, and the inside depth ranges from 5-8 cm. Female S. magna land a distance away from the nest and then stealthily approach the nest.
Breeding interval: Breeding first occurs in late May, with a second brood produced in late June to early July.
Breeding season: Breeding occurs from late May to August.
Range eggs per season: 6 to 14.
Range time to hatching: 13 to 15 days.
Range fledging age: 11 to 12 days.
Range time to independence: 2 (low) weeks.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 1 years.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 1 years.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; oviparous
Average eggs per season: 5.
Females incubate the eggs for 13 to 15 days, when the altricial young hatch. After the eggs hatch both the female and her mate feed the hatchlings. However, females do most of the feeding. Nestlings typically fledge 11 to 12 days after hatching, but juveniles do not become independent for at least another two weeks. The parents continue to feed the fledglings until they become independent.
Parental Investment: altricial ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Female); pre-independence (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Female)
The eastern meadowlark (Sturnella magna) is a medium-sized blackbird (family: Icteridae), very similar in appearance to sister species 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.
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.[2] 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."[3] Confusingly, Linnaeus specified the habitat as "America, Africa".[2] The type location was restricted to South Carolina by the American Ornithologist's Union in 1931.[4][5] 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 Jean Pierre Vieillot.[6][7] The name Sturnella is a diminutive of the Latin sturnus meaning "starling".[8]
Fourteen subspecies are recognised:[7]
The list of subspecies formerly included S. m. lilianae and S. m. auropectoralis. These are now considered to be a separate species, the Chihuahuan meadowlark. 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.[7][9][10]
The adult eastern meadowlark measures from 19 to 28 cm (7.5 to 11.0 in) in length and spans 35–40 cm (14–16 in) across the wings.[11] Body mass ranges from 76 to 150 g (2.7 to 5.3 oz).[12][13] The extended wing bone measures 8.9–12.9 cm (3.5–5.1 in), the tail measures 5.3–8.6 cm (2.1–3.4 in), the culmen measures 2.8–3.7 cm (1.1–1.5 in) and the tarsus measures 3.6–4.7 cm (1.4–1.9 in). Females are smaller in all physical dimensions.[14] 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.
The pale Chihuahuan meadowlark of northern Mexico and the southwestern US is split off as a separate species.
Their breeding habitat is grasslands and prairie, also pastures and hay fields. This species is a permanent resident throughout much of its range, though most northern birds migrate southwards in winter.[15] In 1993 this species was first recorded in El Salvador, and the discovery of a breeding pair in 2004 confirmed that the species is a resident there.[16]
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 lespedezas, pine needles, or horse hair.[17]
These birds forage on the ground or in low vegetation, sometimes probing with the bill. They mainly eat arthropods, but also seeds and berries. 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.[17]
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.[18] 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.[16]
Eastern meadowlarks are species at risk in Nova Scotia and the subject of agricultural conservation program seeking to reduce mortality through modified practices.[19] 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 [20]
Eggs of Sturnella magna MHNT
The eastern meadowlark (Sturnella magna) is a medium-sized blackbird (family: Icteridae), very similar in appearance to sister species 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.