White-browed Blackbirds? (1 Viewer)

The first bird (1st and 2nd - modified - photos) has been seen in Paraná, Brazil. I'm quite sure it is a White-browed Blackbird (it is possible to see its white brow in the photos).
But my doubt is about the second one (3rd photo). It has been seen in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. It was almost totally black, with a red breast. There were lots of them flying or eating seeds. What do you think? Are they the same species?

Thanks very much

I can't definitely see any trace of white supercilium in the 3rd photo. But it would be difficult to tell. According to the locality (Mato Grosso do Sul) it indeed can be a Red-breasted Blackbird male (Sturnella militaris), although a little bit out of the "oficial" range border, but you never know.

Carlos U said:

According to the locality (Mato Grosso do Sul) it indeed can be a Red-breasted Blackbird male (Sturnella militaris), although a little bit out of the "oficial" range border, but you never know.

Click to expand...

A friend tell me this possibility, but I ruled out the Red-breasted Blackbird because, according to my field guide, it is found just in Northern Brazil (Amazonia, especially). There were lots of them in where I saw the birds. What do you think?

Thanks for your help

Well. if you saw hundreds of red-breasted blackbirds without the white supercilium, then I'm afraid that the only alternative is S. militaris.

Obviously I'm not in Brazil, but according to Ridgely & Tudor (1989, The Birds of South America Vol. 1 The Oscine Passerines), they occur at nw. Matto Grosso, and as this species tends to spread over newly cleared areas, it could well be spreading and be present there.

If you saw "lots" I'd almost guarantee they were White-browed Blackbirds (most certainly not Red-breasted). Both these are spreading as mentioned by Carlos (for example, the Red-breasted has been expanding into a few localities in E. Peru, e.g. near Iquitos), but that is due to the clearance of primary rainforest which is one of the few habitats they can't live in. The Pantanal area isn't covered in rainforest forest and hasn't been for thousands of years (so, any major shifts in their distributions are not occuring here). This region is one of the most birder regions in entire South America (i.e. overall, the avifauna is fairly well known) and, to my knowledge, the Red-breasted has never been recorded anywhere near (nearest records are ca. 1500 km. away). However, the White-browed is common in the Pantanal region, occasionally even abundant. So, while someone perhaps could convince me that he'd seen a single vagrant Red-breasted in Mato Grosso do Sul (in which case I'd also recommend forwarding a note to Cotinga or AO due to it being a record far away from its normal range), I'd find it extremely hard to believe if someone said he'd seen many. A much more likely explanation is that the white eye-brow can be rather narrow (and somewhat difficult to see from a distance) and this caused the confusion. Also, the 3d photo is head-on and under normal circumstances you can't see the eye-brow from that angle (it starts just above and behind the eye).