Nature Guide to Yellowstone National Park by Ann Simpson & Rob Simpson

Author:Ann Simpson & Rob Simpson
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781493014811
Publisher: Falcon Guides

YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD

Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus

Blackbird family (Icteridae)

Quick ID: male—black body; golden-yellow head, neck, and throat; fan-shaped all-black tail; black mask over eyes; white wing patch; female—mottled brown; dull yellow head, neck, and throat; white streaking on breast

Length: 9.5" Weight: 2.3 oz Wingspan: 15"

Although the conspicuous yellow and black plumage of the male is striking, it is often the loud raspy calls and chattering in wetlands that first attracts your attention to the yellow-headed blackbird. Red-winged blackbirds, Agelaius phoeniceus, are smaller than yellow-headed black-birds, and males lack the yellow head and sport wing red patches. Female “redwings” are streaky brown like the yellow-headed female but have less yellow in the face and throat. Yellow-headed blackbird males are polygynous, which means that males have as many as 8 female mates. The official state bird of both Wyoming and Montana, the western mead-owlark, Sturnella neglecta, also has yellow and black markings, but it has brownish streaking on the back. Listen and then look for yellow-headed blackbirds at Blacktail Ponds, Slough Creek, Nez Perce Ford picnic area, and Floating Island Lake.

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