Monday Blackbirds

March 20, 2017

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Greetings!

This week’s essay is not exactly “by request”, but is prompted by a question I was asked during the week.

The Red-winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus, is common throughout most of North America.  It is slightly smaller than a Robin.  It is typically found near water, but will come to bird feeders.  The male is best known for its brilliant red and yellow shoulder patches, as in picture #1.

When marking the edge of their territory, they will perch with their wings spread open, showing the wing patches even more clearly (#2).  However, at other times they will almost completely hide the patches (#3), which can make identification a bit confusing.

They defend their territories aggressively, being perfectly willing to challenge other birds as large as a Great Blue Heron (#4), or as fierce as a Red-shouldered Hawk (#5), an Osprey (#6), or even a Bald Eagle (#7).

While the males are strikingly colorful, the females are much less flamboyant, looking more like a rather over-grown sparrow (#8 & #9).

Have a great week!