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==Taxonomy== | ==Taxonomy== | ||
| + | This is a monotypic species. | ||
==Habitat== | ==Habitat== | ||
Revision as of 19:40, 30 July 2008
- Agelaius tricolor
Identification
L. 7-9 1/2" (18-24 cm).
Male: *Black *Bright red shoulder patches (epaulettes) Female & Immature: Heavily streaked with dusky brown
Voice: A rich, musical o-ka-leeee!
Similar Species: See Red-winged Blackbird
Distribution
Southern Oregon south to Baja California. Apparently overshoots occasionally to Washington.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species.
Habitat
Marshes, swamps, and wet and dry meadows; pastures as long as there is any kind of water nearby.
Behaviour
After the breeding season, the birds gather with other blackbirds in flocks, sometimes numbering in the hundreds of thousands. At this time, the blackbirds are often considered pests because they consume grain in cultivated fields; however, farmers benefit because the birds consume harmful insects during the nesting season.
Nesting: 3-5 pale blue eggs, spotted and scrawled with dark brown and purple, in a well-made cup of marsh grass or reeds, attached to growing marsh vegetation or built in a bush in a marsh. Each pair raises two or three broods a season, building a new nest for each clutch.
