Agelaius tricolor
male
The Tricolored Blackbird is similar to the Red-winged Blackbird. Males are separable with care but females are problematic. Adult males are largely black with a red “shoulder” patch that is edged with white (not yellow, as seen in some Red-winged Blackbird males). In winter, the black feathers have gray-buff margins. All females are dark gray-brown and heavily streaked. The plumage is palest on the throat, malar stripe, and supercilium, and lacks the pinkish-buff tinge seen in many adult female Red-wingeds; some solitary female Tricolored Blackbirds may not be identifiable with certainty. Immature males are similar to a winter adult male but the gray-buff feather edges are more obvious.
The Tricolored Blackbird is present year-round in California, where the vast majority of the population resides. It forms flocks outside the breeding season in particular.
female
male
FACT FILE
LENGTH 8.75 in (22 cm)
FOOD Mainly seeds, with invertebrates in spring and summer
HABITAT Farmland and wet grassland
STATUS Locally common resident
VOICE Song is a series of croaking, screechy phrases. Call is a soft chuk
