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Yellow-headed Blackbird

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Yellow-headed Blackbird

Eastern birders are unfortunate for only on rare occasions do they have a chance to see and study this handsome bird. He is larger than the Red-winged Blackbird, with which he often is associated, but smaller than the Grackles. During migration, they join other members of their family in feed lots, pastures or fields and any mixed flock is worth inspecting. They are identified easily for no other bird has the black body, white wing patch and yellow head and breast. The female lacks wing markings and shows dusky, grayish-brown coloring with a yellowish tinge on lighter head markings. They walk with almost a strut, as if they were proud of their brilliant plumage.

Yellow-headed Blackbirds nest in colonies and affix their bulky nests to tules and other vegetation which grow in the center of marshes and swamps in western areas. There seems to be a tendency to move eastward, for a few are nesting in the marshes of the upper Mississippi valley.

Their song is distinctive and consists of a series of chuckles, squeaks and grating notes, all produced by what seems to be a great physical effort. The results hardly justify such a strain.

Author
The Project Gutenberg EBook of Introduction to Our Bird Friends, Volume 2, by Lenwood Ballard Carson
Published 1957
Dimensions
552*717
Tags
Birds
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659
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19