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Red-Winged Blackbird (?)

Started by kenhblankenship, 01/02/2005 07:32PM
Posted 01/02/2005 07:32PM Opening Post
When I saw this on the feeder today I immediately freaked out and scrambled for the camera, Sibley, and Peterson guides. After some studying and reading up on blackbirds in the "Bird Behavior" book, I am 99.9% sure it is a male Red-Winged Blackbird. It is most likely a juvenile. The colors are very vibrant, which would be typical because they molt in late summer/early fall with black feathers that have tips with more color. Feather wear is what renders them blacker as breeding approaches (as opposed to a molt). However, this bird does not display the red/yellow "epaulets" of a more mature male. This is my analysis... comments?

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kenhblankenship's attachment for post 21182

You'll love Birding Georgia!
http://www.wingsoverga.com
Posted 01/02/2005 07:36PM #1
Here is a slighty different view. There is also an upward curve in the bill which is another good indicator for Red-Winged Blackbird.

Attached Image:

kenhblankenship's attachment for post 86562

You'll love Birding Georgia!
http://www.wingsoverga.com
Posted 01/03/2005 01:27AM #2
I'd say your right based on other pics I found. Here are some links. You may have to capture and paste the text to get the links to work.

http://weaselhead.org/learn/birds_red-winged_blackbird.asp

http://www.backyardbirdcam.com/gallery/blackbird-rw-juv.htm

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://members.aol.com/gj081751/rwblkbirds.jpg&imgrefurl=http://members.aol.com/cascadebirdwatch/redwingblkbrd.htm&h=361&w=404&sz=32&tbnid=4FrCCST4xMwJ:&tbnh=108&tbnw=120&start=1&prev=/images%3Fq%3Djuvenile%2Bred-winged%2Bblackbird%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D

Mark Hansen
http://public.fotki.com/mhansen/