Black Bird Identification

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Black Bird Identification

A red-winged blackbird perches on a reed near a stream.

In the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock movie "The Birds," hordes of crows and other birds descend upon a small coastal California town and wreak havoc. What is perhaps one of the more terrifying moments in the film is when the crows are gathering, one by one, on the jungle gym outside the school house. Crows are one of the most easily recognizable black birds in the United States, and while Hitchcock portrayed them as menacing predators, they are in actuality no more aggressive than their much smaller cousins, the shiny black starlings.

Black Bird Families

Within the greater group of birds with black plumage exist over 90 different species of smaller medium-sized birds that are known officially as blackbirds. In this group fall other somewhat familiar birds, including the starling, grackle, red-winged blackbird, brown-headed cowbird, purple martin and rusty blackbird. Grackles and rusty blackbirds often congregate in flocks, and it's common to see them migrating in large numbers in the early fall. It's also common to see starlings perched in long rows on electrical wires.

Larger Black Birds

Aside from crows, the largest black-feathered bird in America is the common raven. Over two feet long, this bird is nearly twice the length of the American crow and can sometimes be identified by it's sound. Unlike the familiar cawing that crows do, the raven's call is deeper and more raspy. Grackles, about a foot long, are long-tailed shiny black birds with iridescent feathers that can be either turquoise or purple. The female is slightly smaller than the male and not as shiny. Male and female American crows are nearly identical, with the female's plumage being a little duller than the male's. A smaller cousin, called the fish crow, is often mistaken for the common crow.

What's In A (Bird) Name?

The brown-headed cowbird is a black bird, about 7 to 8 inches long, with a shiny brown head. It is often seen at bird feeders or eating seed that has fallen to the ground from feeders. The female is a duller brown, with the head color slightly darker than the body. They range the entire United States, up into Canada and down into Mexico.

Other Smaller Black Birds

A member of the swallow family, the purple martin is 7 to 8 inches long and a deep shiny black with purple and blue mixed into its plumage. The female is brown above and gray below. Some gardeners erect large flat bird houses on poles above their flowerbeds to attract the purple martins whose diet consists mainly of insects, making this bird welcome in any garden setting

The Color Spectrum

The red-winged blackbird, about nine inches long, is entirely black except for bright patches of crimson red on its upper wings. It loves wet fields, and wherever cattails are seen, you're sure to see a red-winged blackbird or two. The yellow-headed blackbird, about the same length as its red-headed cousin, also frequents wet spongy fields in the western half of the United States and into Mexico. The female is a dull brownish-black with a paler yellow head than the male's.

Wedding outfits

Thursday, January 31, 2013