Aternative names: Bonaparte's Blackbird; White-browed Meadowlark
- Leistes superciliaris
Sturnella superciliaris
Identification
Male 17·8 cm (7 in), Female 17 cm (6¾ in)
- Black overall plumage
- Red throat, belly and wing epaulettes
- White supercilium
Female
- Buff edged dark brown upperpart feathers
- Yellowish-brown underparts
- Pale streaks through the crown and eye
Juvenile resembles female paler.
Distribution
South America: found from extreme south-eastern Peru to Paraguay, Uruguay, northern Argentina and Brazil; always south of the Amazon basin.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
This taxon has sometimes been considered a subspecies of Red-breasted Blackbird (Sturnella militaris).
This species has formerly been placed in the genus Sturnella.
Habitat
Commonly seen in agricultural fields, wet meadows and damp grassland. They like areas with the odd bush or fence post for males to use as a song post.
Behaviour
Breeding
They build grass-lined deep open cup nest which is placed on the ground in tall grass. Generally they nest in loose colonies. The clutch consists of 3-5 greenish eggs with reddish-brown-blotches.
This species is often parasitised by the Shiny Cowbird.
Diet
Their diet consists mostly of arthropods, supplementd with the seeds, insects and spiders.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved February 2016)
- Wikipedia
- BF Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) White-browed Blackbird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 8 October 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/White-browed_Blackbird
External Links
