Red-breasted Blackbird
Sturnella militaris
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
- FamilyIcteridae (New World Blackbirds and Orioles)
- GenusSturnella (Yellow-breasted Meadowlarks)
- SpeciesSturnella militaris (Red-breasted Blackbird)
About the Red-breasted Blackbird
The red-breasted meadowlark (Leistes militaris) is a passerine bird in the New World family Icteridae. It was formerly named red-breasted blackbird but is not closely related to the red-winged blackbird group. The red-breasted meadowlark was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with the buntings in the genus Emberiza and coined the binomial name Emberiza militaris. Linnaeus cited his own catalogue of the cabinet of curiosities belonging to the king of Sweden, Adolf Frederick, as well as the description and illustration of the "Greater Bull-Finch" by the English naturalist George Edwards's that had been published in 1747. Neither Edwards nor Linnaeus knew the origin of their specimens but in 1902 the German ornithologists Hans von Berlepsch and Ernst Hartert designated type locality as Suriname. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
The red-breasted meadowlark is a small icterid, 19 cm (7.5 in) long and weighing 40–48 g (1.4–1.7 oz). Males are larger than females. The male has mainly black plumage, apart from a bright red throat, belly and wing... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Red-breasted Blackbird in Henri Pittier National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Henri Pittier National Park
Eastern Meadowlark
Sturnella magna
Crested Oropendola
Psarocolius decumanus
Russet-backed Oropendola
Psarocolius angustifrons
Carib Grackle
Quiscalus lugubris
Yellow Oriole
Icterus nigrogularis
Yellow-rumped Cacique
Cacicus cela
Shiny Cowbird
Molothrus bonariensis
Oriole Blackbird
Gymnomystax mexicanus
Yellow-backed Oriole
Icterus chrysater
Yellow-hooded Blackbird
Chrysomus icterocephalus
Giant Cowbird
Molothrus oryzivorus
Orange-crowned Oriole
Icterus auricapillus
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.