Peruvian Meadowlark (Leistes bellicosa)

Identification & Behavior: ~21 cm (8.2 in). The male Peruvian Meadowlark is mostly dusky and gray with a black head and broad white superciliary. It has a red throat, breast, and shoulders. The iris is dark. The female is dusky and gray to brownish and gray with a  broad pale or buff superciliary. The female has a faint red patch on the breast. The male is very similar to the White-browed Blackbird but these two species are not known to overlap.

Status: The Peruvian Meadowlark is fairly common in open habitat on the western lowlands. It also occurs in the Marañon drainage overall at elevations below 2500 m. It also occurs in Ec and Ch.

Name in Spanish: Pecho Colorado Peruano.

Sub-species: Peruvian Meadowlark (Leistes bellicosa bellicosa), Filippi, 1847. SW Colombia (Nariño) and W Ecuador S to C Peru.
(Leistes bellicosa albiceps), (R. A. Philippi and Landbeck), 1861. SW Peru S along Pacific slope of Andes to extreme N Chile.

Meaning of Name: Leistes: Gr. a robber, a plunderer. Meadowlarks sometimes take eggs and small young form other birds nests. bellicosa: L. bellicosus aggressive, martial.

Notes: Formerly known as Sturnella bellicosa.

See more of the Family Icteridae