Red-Winged Blackbird
Agelaius phoeniceus
Red-Winged Blackbirds are both striking and interesting. The male (upper left) is the one with the red wing (and yellow border), which provides a high contrast to its glossy black body. The female (upper right) is drab looking by comparison, and looks like a large sparrow with dark thick streaks on its chest and belly. When the birds mate (lower left), the red wing feathers of the male are more prominently displayed. Unlike many birds that are more monogamous, the male blackbird may have more than a dozen female-occupied nests within its exclusive breeding territory (other mature males are not welcome, although they do occasionally sneak in and impregnate these females). The male may take three years to develop its mature plumage, and immature males (lower right) look like dark versions of the females. (Click on images to see enlarged versions.)