Yellow-headed Blackbird

                                            Yellow-headed Blackbird, Male  [Gene Nadeau Photo]

A rare blackbird appeared at a feeder in the Edmundston area in early December.  Not only is it rare for a blackbird to be here in December, it is very rare for it to be a Yellow-headed Blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus).  The normal range of this species is the western half of North America from the northern prairies and British Columbia south to southern US and Mexico.  It normally breeds in summers in the bulk of western Canada and the US and winters in the southern US and northern Mexico.  It is a rare visitor here with more records from the fall than the spring.  The first one recorded was from Whale Cove, Grand Manan in 1948.  There have been more than 50 reports since then.  We will likely have more visitors of this species since it is common in the west.

To see this species here in winter is another anomaly.  We have had many rare species here in the east this fall and early winter.  We do not know why with any certainty but it is surely related to fall storms and winds blowing them off their migration routes.  This individual has faired well, being at a well-stocked feeder area with the protection of bird-loving people.  

                                 Yellow-headed Blackbird, Male  [Gene Nadeau Photo]

Although Yellow-headed Blackbirds will come to feeders they are normally birds of marshes and open areas.  They are a large blackbird, 24 cm (9.5 inches) long.  They appear bulky and males are larger than females.  As you can see in the photos above, the male has a brilliant cadmium yellow head, throat and breast.  The black mask contrasts well with the yellow.  The big white wing patch contrast with the otherwise black body, wings and tail (not visible on these photos).  One characteristic which is new to me is that it also has  yellow around the vent, although this would be very difficult to see in the field.  The female is brownish with a dull yellow supercilium and breast.  She has a whitish throat with dark stripes and a yellow malar stripe (stripe on the side of the throat).  The juvenile looks similar to the female.  This species is so distinctive there are no other species here one would mistake it for.

During winter and migration the Yellow-headed Blackbird prefers open land, cultivated fields and pastures. In spring and summer it nests in fresh-water marshes.  It makes a deep basket-like nest woven into the vegetation over the water.  The 3 to 5 pale green to gray eggs marked with dark blotches are incubated by the female.  These birds feed on beetles, spiders, ants and the seeds of panic grass, ragweed, smartweed and pigweed.  They usually forage on or near the ground and will also hawk insects from the air.  From those that come to feeders we have learned that they will eat cracked corn, nuts, seeds, millet and suet.  Yellow-headed Blackbirds nest in the same habitat as Red-winged Blackbirds dominating them and pushing them away from desirable food and nesting sites.  They are also aggressive towards Marsh Wrens.

This species has a peculiar song and call note.  It is varied and has been described as a mixture of honking, gurgling and a strangling, rusty-hinge noise.   There are also some interesting facts about Yellow-headed Blackbirds.  They are good engineers.  They make their nest out of wet vegetation which tightens up when it dries, making a secure nest for the eggs and hatchlings.  The males can be polygamists, sometimes acquiring up to six mates.  If they do acquire new territory, they don't destroy the broods sired by other males.  

In winter this species often forms single gender flocks.  Flocks of all males or all females are common.  Their flying formations are also interesting.  Flocks often move in a rolling formation.  The birds in the back of the flock fly over the birds in the front.  This gives the impression of rolling movement.  If you think about it, this strategy is probably good in large flocks because it gives those at the back of the flock an opportunity to land on a fresh feeding area where food would be more abundant. 

Populations of this species are presently stable but they are vulnerable to toxic sprays and the drainage of marshes and ditches on the prairies.  Local droughts can increase mortality.

The first detailed description of a Yellow-headed Blackbird was done by Charles Lucien Bonaparte, nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1825.  The specimen from which he made his description was collected in 1820 by Thomas Say and Sir John Richardson.  These names are familiar to birders since they show up in the names of other North American bird species.  The very first knowledge we have of this species comes from Pleistocene fossils from 100,000 years ago which have been dug up in California, Utah and New Mexico.