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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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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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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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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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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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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.