meadowlark
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Related to meadowlark: eastern meadowlark
meadowlark,
common North American meadow bird of the family Icteridae, also called meadow starling. Unlike other members of the family, which comprises blackbirds, gracklesgrackle,common name applied to some members of the New World family Icteridae, which also includes blackbirds, orioles, meadowlarks, cowbirds, and others. The plumage of the purple, or common, grackle of the Atlantic coastal region is black with metallic hues, iridescent in the
..... Click the link for more information. , orioles, and others, the meadowlark does not travel in large flocks, and it eats harmful insects rather than grain. The eastern meadowlark, Sturnella magna, known for its clear, whistling song, is about 10 in. (25 cm) long. In color, it is brown streaked with black above and yellow below with a broad black crescent across the chest. The Western species, Sturnella neglecta, is slightly smaller, and its call is lower. Recent experiments have shown that the two species do not interbreed in the wild, although they are nearly indistinguishable. Meadowlarks are classified in the phylum ChordataChordata
, phylum of animals having a notochord, or dorsal stiffening rod, as the chief internal skeletal support at some stage of their development. Most chordates are vertebrates (animals with backbones), but the phylum also includes some small marine invertebrate animals.
..... Click the link for more information. , subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Passeriformes, family Icteridae.