Sturnella


The genus Sturnella are North American grassland birds called meadowlarks. The genus was previously lumped with the South American meadowlarks now placed in the genus Leistes.
It includes two or three species of largely insectivorous grassland birds. In all species the male at least has a black or brown back and extensively yellow underparts.

List of species

There are two widely accepted members of the genus. There is disagreement among authorities as to whether Lilian's meadowlark should be ranked as a full species or a subspecies.
By the early 20th century, the meadowlarks were split. Only the "yellow-breasted" meadowlarks remained in the genus Sturnella. The red-breasted and white-browed meadowlarks were moved to the genus Leistes, while the pampas meadowlark, Peruvian meadowlark and long-tailed meadowlark made up the genus Pezites, which was established by Cabanis in 1851. By the late 20th century, all meadowlarks were lumped in the genus Sturnella. In 2017, all the red-breasted meadowlarks were merged into the genus Leistes.