From Opus

Agelaius tricolor

Photo by Forcreeks

[edit] Identification

L. 7-9 1/2" (18-24 cm).

• Male: Black with bright red shoulder patches (epaulettes), bordered by white below, compared to the similar Red-winged Blackbird which has yellow below the red.
• Female & Immature: Heavily streaked with dusky brown

• Voice: A rich, musical o-ka-leeee!

[edit] Similar Species

Red-winged Blackbird

[edit] Distribution

Southern Oregon south to Baja California. Apparently overshoots occasionally to Washington.

[edit] Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species.

[edit] Habitat

Marshes, swamps, and wet and dry meadows; pastures as long as there is any kind of water nearby.

[edit] Behaviour

After the breeding season, the birds gather with other blackbirds in flocks, sometimes numbering in the hundreds of thousands. At this time, the blackbirds are often considered pests because they consume grain in cultivated fields; however, farmers benefit because the birds consume harmful insects during the nesting season.

Nesting: 3-5 pale blue eggs, spotted and scrawled with dark brown and purple, in a well-made cup of marsh grass or reeds, attached to growing marsh vegetation or built in a bush in a marsh. Each pair raises two or three broods a season, building a new nest for each clutch.

[edit] External Links