[Length 8.75 in. Wingspan 13 in.]

This female Red-winged Blackbird was photographed at Brigantine NWR, New Jersey. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Kodachrome 64 film. (Date: March 1981)

[Length 8.75 in. Wingspan 13 in.]

This male Red-winged Blackbird was photographed in Stone Harbor, New Jersey. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF f4.0 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: May 1996)

[Length 8.75 in. Wingspan 13 in.]

This male Red-winged Blackbird, showing a very worn summer plumage, was photographed at Cape May, NJ. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: September 1988)

[Length 9 in. Wingspan 14 in.]

Rusty Blackbirds breed in the far north from Alaska across most of Canada, just barely reaching into the northeastern US. In winter they occur throughout much of the eastern and southern US. Males in breeding plumage are easily distinguished from other blackbirds by their yellow eyes (although the Brewer's Blackbird also has yellow eyes), overall black plumage with only a slight greenish gloss, and from grackles by their shorter "blackbird" bills and tails. Rusty Blackbirds get their name from their winter plumage, which has rich, dark rusty tones. This male Rusty Blackbird in breeding plumage was photographed near Anchorage, Alaska. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: May 1988)

[Length 9 in. Wingspan 14 in.]

This male Rusty Blackbird was photographed at Brazos Bend State Park, Needville, TX. Photo taken with a AF-S VR Nikkor 300mm f/2.8G IF-ED lens + Nikkor TC14E II 1.4x Teleconverter (EFL=630mm) on a Nikon D200 camera. (Date: January 15, 2009)

[Length 9 in. Wingspan 14 in.]

This female Rusty Blackbird was photographed at Brazos Bend State Park, Needville, TX. Photo taken with a AF-S VR Nikkor 300mm f/2.8G IF-ED lens + Nikkor TC14E II 1.4x Teleconverter (EFL=630mm) on a Nikon D200 camera. (Date: January 15, 2009)

[Length 9 in. Wingspan 14 in.]

Rusty Blackbirds get their name from their winter plumage, which has rich, dark rusty tones. This male Rusty Blackbird molting into its "rusty" winter plumage was photographed at Great Swamp NWR, New Jersey. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Kodachrome 64 film. (Date: November 1980)

[Length 9.5 in. Wingspan 15 in.]

Imagine a black bird whose head has been dipped in bright golden-yellow paint. What you will see in your mind's eye is the Yellow-headed Blackbird. This brightly-colored bird, a cousin of the more widespread Red-winged Blackbird, is found in the prairie marshes and lakes of the central and western US and southern Canada. When the male Yellow-headed Blackbird serenades his mate during the breeding season he puts on a show equal to his flashy plumage. He leans forward on his perch, puffs up his feathers and spreads his wings to expose white patches of feathers on his shoulders. But, his "song" is little more than a series of loud, noisy, "squeaky hinge" notes accompanied by a few croaks and buzzes. Sadly, the bird's voice does not match his beautiful plumage! This male was photographed at Audubon NWR in North Dakota. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: June 1991)