The Red-breasted BlackbirdSturnella militaris is in the New World family Icteridae. It is in the same genus as the meadowlarks. It is unrelated to the European Blackbird which is a thrush. It is resident from southwestern Costa Rica which it has recently colonized. Like other meadowlarks, it is a bird associated with open country, including moist grasslands, pasture and cultivation, preferably with the odd bush or fence post for males to use as a songpost. In display the male flies up to 33 ft in the air, then parachutes down on folded wings whilst singing a wheezing song, ti-ti-pee-pee-KWAAAAAA.
This bird was photographed (at a considerable distance) in the pastures around the Esquinas Rain Forest lodge, Costa Rica.