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Tricolored Blackbird in Trouble in California

10,000 Birds

More than 99% of the population of Tricolored Blackbirds ( Agelaius tricolor ) live within the state of California and form the largest colonies of any North American passerine bird 1. The Results of the 2014 Tricolored Blackbird Statewide Survey confirm that this species is in rapid decline. Click on photos for full sized images.

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What’s in a Name: Brewer’s Blackbird

10,000 Birds

Blackbirds, as a family, often have those simple descriptive names that are easy to mock ( Yellow-rumped Warbler , ugh) until a non-birder comes describing such a species to you and asking for an ID. Which is not to say that the creeping hand of ornithological nepotism has never touched the blackbirds. Take Brewer’s Blackbird.

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Slow Motion Blackbirds

10,000 Birds

Even garden variety Red-winged Blackbirds are fun to play with in slow motion. Here’s a sample of what I got at the feeders at Santa Ana NWR last week: I love the way the blackbirds sound in slow motion…a little terrifying. Here’s a trailer for it: Birds blackbirds digiscoping'

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It’s On: The Rusty Blackbird Migration Blitz!

10,000 Birds

Specifically, the plight of the Rusty Blackbird , which has experienced the sharpest rate of decline among North American landbirds, according to the International Rusty Blackbird Working Group (IRBWG), and has a conservation status of Vulnerable. Male Rusty Blackbird image above copyright Richard Orr, courtesy of IRBWG).

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The Blackbird that is a Meadowlark – Red-breasted Blackbird in Trinidad

10,000 Birds

Blackbirds are blackbirds. In the new world all meadowlarks and blackbirds, along with grackles, cowbirds, orioles, oropendulas, and some others, are members of the family Icteridae , the New World Blackbirds. adult male Red-breasted Blackbird showing off its namesake. female Red-breasted Blackbird.

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Red-winged Blackbirds

10,000 Birds

Red-winged Blackbird ( Agelaius phoeniceus ) Male (click on photos for full sized images) This time of year, Red-winged Blackbirds are gathering on nesting grounds in wetlands but also in uplands and agricultural habitats. Right now though, you would most probably see flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds preparing to mate and nest.

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Blackbird catches Newt.

10,000 Birds

This reminded me of an occasion when I noted similar behaviour by a Eurasian Blackbird , Turdus merula. Heavy competition may have forced the bird to “get creative and adapt to other food sources” The Blackbird was faced with a similar challenge, except that the ground was rock solid on account of a hot dry spring.

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Red-winged Blackbird Harassing a Fish Crow

10,000 Birds

While at Flushing Meadows Corona Park near my house in Queens this evening putting my new lens through its paces,* I was entertained by the strafing runs that the Red-winged Blackbirds were taking at every Fish Crow that flew by.

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Thousands of Tricolored Blackbirds Saved Through Farmer/Conservationist Partnership

10,000 Birds

For a birder, a sighting of a Tricolored Blackbird is a treat. Add in habitat loss, and the population of Tricolored Blackbirds has plunged enough to necessitate listing it as a Bird of Conservation Concern on the U.S. All photos by Keiller Kyle, courtesy of Audubon California.

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What Do Red-winged Blackbirds Say?

10,000 Birds

I’ve been reading Bernd Heinrich’s Summer World lately and was struck by his description of the song of the Red-winged Blackbird as “oog-la-ee.” What follows is a rundown of a dozen different authors’ take on the song of the Red-winged Blackbird. ” This clearly required more research! .”

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Birding: Special Lockdown Edition

10,000 Birds

There is a saying among birders – not very well known – that if life gives you lemonade, you should take photos of Chinese Blackbird chicks. While occasionally singing, most of the time … … the adult blackbirds are working hard … … because the chicks are always hungry. So that is what I did.

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Herdade do Esporão Bico Amarelo Vinho Verde (2019)

10,000 Birds

The bird is, of course, none other than the Common Blackbird ( Turdus merula ), the original blackbird of European folklore and nursery rhyme fame, better known to North American birders as the Eurasian Blackbird and unrelated to those “blackbirds” of the family Icteridae found in the New World.

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Yellow-headed Blackbirds: Conspicuous Wetland Breeders

10,000 Birds

Yellow-headed Blackbirds ( Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus ) are robin-sized blackbirds found in prairie and mountain meadow wetlands of the western and central United States and Canada. You can hear the Yellow-headed Blackbird call by clicking on the sound link courtesy of Xeno-Canto.org.

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Pure White Blackbird

10,000 Birds

You may already know about this, but I was not aware that a pure white Blackbird (the thrush, not the icterid) can be found at Rufford Abbey Country Park in Nottinghamshire, UK. In fact, this leucistic lovely ( check out the pic ) has resided at the park for the last four years. Thanks to reader Sher Buckner for the tip.

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They’ve Got Personality

10,000 Birds

Brewer’s Blackbirds are rare treats down here in Michoacán. Still, this Carrion Crow in Munich, Germany, had that Blackbird beat: It came so close to me that it did not fit in the camera’s frame. Black-necked Stilts always have lots of personality, so I couldn’t choose just one photo.

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Red winged blackbird taking flight.

Reddit Animals

submitted by /u/MiekerBeaker [link] [comments].

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Best Bird of the Weekend (First of October 2021)

10,000 Birds

He got to some of the hotspots in his home town and enjoyed seeing a variety of fall migrants from wood-warblers to blackbirds. Corey spent his weekend upstate visiting his folks, picking apples, and, of course, looking for birds. How about you? What was your best bird of the weekend?

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The Birds are All Right

10,000 Birds

There were large flocks of Brown-headed Cowbirds and Yellow-headed Blackbirds , with some Red-winged Blackbirds in the mix. Up close, you could see mostly Yellow-headed Blackbirds , but with some Cowbirds mixed in. The best activity was to be found in the reedbeds along the non-tollroad lake crossing. Just part of one flock.

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North Coast Brewing Company: Le Merle Saison

10,000 Birds

But North Coast also makes a bird-themed beer, Le Merle, an interpretation of a Belgian, farmhouse-style saison with a name borrowed from the French word for the Common (Eurasian) Blackbird ( Turdus merula ). Birds and Booze readers may remember another saison originally named for le merle that we looked at about a year ago.

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Playing with the Pros

10,000 Birds

I was very pleased to see several Brewer’s Blackbirds mixed in with a large group of Brown-headed Cowbirds and Yellow-headed Blackbirds. Bronzed Cowbirds may look like those Brewer’s Blackbirds. This is only my second sighting of the species on Lake Cuitzeo. But their eyes are red, not white.

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Water, Water, Everywhere

10,000 Birds

Great clouds of Blackbirds and Cowbirds , with a high percentage of Yellow-headed Blackbirds ? But in flight, and high in the reeds, Yellow-headed Blackbirds come to the fore. And there, I learned Lesson #3 : Even perching birds can be active on a rainy day, if the rains go on long enough. Bronzed Cowbirds were also present.).

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Trinity Brewing Company: You Never Even Call Me By My Name

10,000 Birds

But the name of this beer had nothing to do with “Sixteen Tons” of coal, or “Okies” from Muskogee, but birds: merle is also the French word for “blackbird”. And, of course, by blackbirds I mean true thrushes of the family Turdidae , of which the Common (Eurasian) Blackbird ( Turdus merula ) is the most famous in European culture and folklore.

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Best Bird of the Weekend (Second of March 2020)

10,000 Birds

For me, the view of Red-winged Blackbirds puffed up with territorial bravado signals the approach of spring, even if we’re have to endure a few more snowstorms to get there! Some times of year offer more avian excitement than others, and recent signs even as far north as I live suggest we’ve just entered such a period.

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First Phoebe of 2020

10,000 Birds

I saw my first migratory Eastern Phoebe of 2020 this morning at Cunningham Park in my home borough of Queens, where I was looking for my first Rusty Blackbirds of the year. (I I found them too!) The phoebe was busy flycatching over a vernal pool, often hitting the water as it chased bugs. For me, it is now officially spring!

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The Dracula Bird

10,000 Birds

And then there are those startling bright red eyes, which distinguish them from all other blackbirds in my region, and make them look quite capable of peering into your soul and taking over your will. I’m not particularly proud of these photos. A cool, slightly spooky blackbird versus a muddy-looking blackbird?

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Collaborative list – October 2021

10,000 Birds

424 Eurasian Blackbird – Turdus merula. 480 Yellow-headed Blackbird – Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus. 496 Red-winged Blackbird – Agelaius phoeniceus. 497 Tricolored Blackbird – Agelaius tricolor. 502 Melodious Blackbird – Dives dives. 503 Rusty Blackbird – Euphagus carolinus.

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This Shouldn’t Be A Single Day But…

10,000 Birds

From Masked Yellowthroat and Yellow-chinned Spinetail to Yellow-hooded Blackbird and Yellow Oriole , we chuckled consistently at the preponderance of yellow in the marsh. Green Kingfisher While out with some close friends on an early morning mission to southern Trinidad, we enjoyed sightings of various forms of yellow-inspired birds.

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Birds of Visselhövede in Winter

10,000 Birds

Common Blackbird. Spoiler alert: nothing too exciting for somebody familiar with European birds, but interesting enough for me …. European Robin. Yellowhammer. Common Chaffinch. Eurasian Tree Sparrow. Great Spotted Woodpecker. European Greenfinch. House Sparrow. Eurasian Blue Tit. Eurasian Jay.

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Farewell to 2020 – Marin Brewing Company: Albion Amber Ale

10,000 Birds

After a night at the Point Reyes hostel and a long walk to Limantour Beach the next morning, Katherine and I drove into Point Reyes Station for a breakfast of buttermilk blueberry scones at the excellent Bovine Bakery , where the Brewer’s Blackbirds ( Euphagus cyanocephalus ) outside gathered around us and begged for crumbs.

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Best Bird of the Weekend (Last of April 2020)

10,000 Birds

We got out to Lucien Morin during a break in the rain and saw nothing more seasonal than Red-winged Blackbirds claiming their individual patches of marshland. The ridiculous cold afflicting the northeastern U.S. seems to have chilled the rush of migrants around here.

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Do nine-primaried oscines represent 16 different families?

10,000 Birds

For those of us in the Americas, nine-primaried oscines are among our most familiar and beloved birds: finches; sparrows, juncos, and towhees; warblers; blackbirds, meadowlarks, and orioles; cardinals and grosbeaks; and tanagers. Icteridae : New World blackbirds, orioles, meadowlarks, etc. Or blackbirds and warblers? I think so.

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The origins of tanagers, warblers, and sparrows are coming into focus

10,000 Birds

A new paper out this month attempts to paint the most comprehensive picture yet of the origins and diversification of the American sparrows, wood-warblers, blackbirds, cardinals, tanagers, and their kin, an enormous group of birds more than 800 species strong. Burns, John Klicka, Scott M. Lanyon, and Irby J.

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Once upon a time in Bojcinska Forest

10,000 Birds

Common Redstart , European Greenfinch , Song Thrush , Eurasian Blackbird , Common Nightingale , Eurasian Blue and Great T**s , Eurasian Blackcap and Eurasian Nuthatch were singing from every direction conceivable. The most numerous birds are Common Chaffinches.

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What is the National Bird of Sweden?

10,000 Birds

The national bird of Sweden is the Blackbird Turdus merula , otherwise known as the Common Blackbird or Eurasian Blackbird , though, of course, in Sweden it is not known by any of those names but as Koltrast.* The Blackbird became the Swedish national bird as a result of a newspaper poll in 1962.

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Collaborative list – March 2020

10,000 Birds

Eurasian Blackbird ( Turdus merula ). Red-winged Blackbird ( Agelaius phoeniceus ). Spotted Wren ( Campylorhynchus gularis ). European Starling ( Sturnus vulgaris ). Blue Mockingbird ( Melanotis caerulescens ). Song Thrush ( Turdus philomelos ). Clay-colored Thrush ( Turdus grayi ). American Robin ( Turdus migratorius ).

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Red-wing and Great Gray

10,000 Birds

An angry Red-winged Blackbird attacked again and again, flashing its bright epaulettes and hitting the heron hard in the middle of its back. The blackbird appeared to be purposefully targeting the heron’s back. It continued to fish, working its way slowly along the bank while the blackbird continued its assault.

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Birding from home

10,000 Birds

Lady Helen’s thundering progress kicked up the turf and brought opportunities for our resident Eurasian Blackbirds. Our garden birds have taken to using the jumps and markers as lookout posts from which to drop on unsuspecting worms and insects. There are at least four individuals, 2 males and two females.

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New Place in Costa Rica, New Yard List

10,000 Birds

In the same low trees, pale lavender colored flowers attracted other species, among them a pair of Melodious Blackbirds that also flicked their tails but in a more pronounced fashion. In typical blackbird fashion, this common garden bird gave occasional, loud, ringing calls. These were. Great Kiskadee. Social Flycatcher.

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Collaborative List – July 2020

10,000 Birds

Eurasian Blackbird – Turdus merula. Chinese Blackbird – Turdus mandarinus. Red-winged Blackbird – Agelaius phoeniceus. Melodious Blackbird – Dives dives. Brewer’s Blackbird – Euphagus cyanocephalus. Yellow-hooded Blackbird – Chrysomus icterocephalus.

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The 20 most common birds in Shanghai (Part 1)

10,000 Birds

The Chinese Blackbird was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the Common Blackbird, and does not really look or behave much different. Instead of cattle, it nowadays often follows tractors ploughing the fields and thus stirring up small animals. A thoroughly modern bird.

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The Little Big Year – Week 42: Tucson’s Sweetwater Wetlands.

10,000 Birds

Brown-headed Cowbirds, Red-wing Blackbirds and Yellow-headed Blackbirds were all flying in and out of the cattails faster than I could get a photo of. This Yellow-headed Blackbird was just slow enough, that I was able to capture him in a full dive towards the reeds!

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First Outbreak of Usutu Virus in Germany

10,000 Birds

So, to cut things short, there is sickness all around me, and I have thus decided to have my February post whistle to that tune as well and give an update to the mysterious die-off amongst our Eurasian Blackbirds that occurred around my home turf in Heidelberg last summer – blogged about here. Significantly reduced flight distance.

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Collaborative list – April 2020

10,000 Birds

Eurasian Blackbird (Turdus merula). Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus). Melodious Blackbird (Dives dives). Tropical Mockingbird (Mimus gilvus). Swainson’s Thrush (Catharus ustulatus). Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus). Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus). Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos). Turdus sp.).