Brewer's Blackbird

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Brewer's Blackbird
E. cyanocephalus female, San Francisco Presidio
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Icteridae
Genus: Euphagus
Species: E. cyanocephalus
Binomial name
Euphagus cyanocephalus
(Wagler, 1829)
Synonyms

Euphagus affinis (Shufeldt, 1892)

The Brewer's Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus) is a medium-sized New World blackbird, named after the ornithologist Thomas Mayo Brewer.

Appearance

Adults have a pointed bill. Adult males have black plumage; the female is dark grey. The male has a bright yellow eye; the female's is dark. They resemble the eastern member of the same genus, the Rusty Blackbird; however, the Brewer's Blackbird has a shorter bill and the male's head is iridescent purple.[2] This bird is often mistaken for the Common Grackle but has a shorter tail. The call is a sharp check which is also distinguishable. This bird is in a different family from the Eurasian Blackbird.

Habitat

Their breeding habitat is open and semi-open areas, often near water, across central and western North America. The cup nest can be located in various locations: in a tree, in tall grass or on a cliff. They often nest in colonies.

These birds are often permanent residents in the west. Other birds migrate to the southeastern United States and Mexico. The range of this bird has been expanding east in the Great Lakes region.[3]

Feed

They forage in shallow water or in fields, mainly eating seeds and insects, some berries. They sometimes catch insects in flight. They feed in flocks outside of the breeding season, sometimes with other blackbirds.

Protected Status

The Brewer's Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus) is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.[4]

Gallery

  • E. cyanocephalus male.

  • E. cyanocephalus female.

  • The iridescent purple head of the male is a distinguishing feature.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brewer's Blackbird.
Wikispecies has information related to: Euphagus cyanocephalus
  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Euphagus cyanocephalus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013. 
  2. ↑ Peterson, Roger Tory; Peterson, Virginia Marie (2002). Birds of Eastern and Central North America (5 ed.). New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin. p. 310. ISBN 0-395-74047-9. 
  3. ↑ Stepney, P. H. R.; Power, Dennis M. (December 1973). "Analysis of the Eastward Breeding Expansion of Brewer's Blackbird Plus General Aspects of Avian Expansions" (PDF). The Wilson Bulletin 85 (4): 452–464. 
  4. ↑ BIRDS PROTECTED BY THE MIGRATORY BIRD TREATY ACT. fws.gov

Further reading

  • Martin, S. G. 2002. Brewer’s Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus). In The Birds of North America, No. 616 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.

External links

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