The Story
I photographed this Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna) at Hacienda La Cabaña, near Tauramena, Casanare, Colombia, in January 2020. It ranges from eastern North America to northern South America. Adults are yellow below with a black V on the breast, and brown with black streaks above. It nests on the ground, sometimes in a cattle hoofprint, under a roof woven from grasses. About three-quarters of its diet is animal food such as beetles, grasshoppers and crickets. IUCN lists it as Near Threatened, and its numbers are falling.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/800 sec, f/7.1, ISO 800. Its numbers grew as forests were cleared in eastern North America, but they are now shrinking as suitable habitat declines.
©2020 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna) belongs to the family Icteridae (Troupials and Allies) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2020), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List