Sturnella loyca
Silhouette: Matt Wilkins · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The long-tailed meadowlark (Leistes loyca) is a passerine bird in the family Icteridae, the oropendolas, New World orioles, and New World blackbirds. It is found in Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands. The long-tailed meadowlark has a complicated taxonomic history. It was formally described in 1782 with the binomial Sturnus Loyca [sic]. In the 1800s it was assigned to genus Sturnella, and for a time it and two other species were separated in genus Pezites. This genus was later again merged into Sturnella. In 2016 BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World assigned it to its current genus Leistes that had been erected in 1825. By 2019 the IOC, the Clements taxonomy, and the South American Classification Committee had also made the reassignment.
The long-tailed meadowlark has these four subspecies: Males weigh an average of 112 g (4.0 oz) and females 97 g (3.4 oz). Adult males of the nominate subspecies L. l. loyca have a... Wikipedia →
Recording0:12
Chile · 2026
© Sebastian Morales · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:17
Chile · 2025
© Chris · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
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Argentina · 2022
© Nicolas Olejnik · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Península Valdés | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | Torres del Paine National Park | 🇨🇱 Chile | |
| 3 | Nahuel Huapi National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Long-tailed Meadowlark sighting in Mendoza on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 67th most-seen of the 69 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Long-tailed Meadowlark in Mendoza on a given day, against under 5% in January to November, the lowest months.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Long-tailed Meadowlark sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Long-tailed Meadowlark sightings, Mendoza ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Santiago (Chile, about 30%).
Same family: Icteridae
The closest relatives of the Long-tailed Meadowlark that you can see in Mendoza (family Icteridae, New World Blackbirds and Orioles) are Shiny Cowbird (about 60%), Grayish Baywing (about 40%) and Screaming Cowbird (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Long-tailed Meadowlark is recorded against all the birds logged in Mendoza (8 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
