White-browed Blackbird

Description

The white-browed meadowlark (Leistes superciliaris) is a passerine bird in the New World family Icteridae. It was formerly named white-browed blackbird but is not closely related to the red-winged blackbird group. The white-browed meadowlark breeds in north-eastern Brazil and in southern South America from south-western Brazil through Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina. Southern populations are partially migratory. Like other meadowlarks, it is a bird associated with open country, including moist grasslands, pasture and cultivation, preferably with the odd bush or fence post for males to use as a songpost. In display the male flies up to 10 m in the air, then parachutes down on folded wings whilst singing an initially buzzing song, followed by a series of notes TZZZZZZ-teee-chu-chu-chak-chak. The call is a short chuck. The white-browed meadowlark builds a deep grass-lined open cup nest on the ground amongst tall grasses, with several nests often close together. The normal clutch is three to five reddish brown-blotched greenish eggs. This species is often parasitised by the shiny cowbird, and on one occasion 19 cowbird eggs were found with one meadowlark egg in a nest. The white-browed meadowlark is a small icterid. The male has mainly black plumage, apart from a bright red throat, belly and wing epaulets, and a white supercilium. The female has buff edged dark brown upperpart feathers, buff underparts, and pale streaks through the crown and eye.

Summary adapted from the Wikipedia article “White-browed meadowlark”.