Ashley and Crippen Photographers, Toronto|Corporate Headshots/Executive Headshots 

Birds

Red Wing Blackbird

Widespread and abundant, the Red-winged Blackbird is found on all kinds of wet ground across most of North America. Except in the breeding season, it forms huge flocks- often with other blackbird species. It nest near the ground, weaving a sturdy cup of grass attached to marsh reeds or in a low bush, in which it lays 3-5 pale blue-green eggs, heavily marked with brown and black. These are incubated by the female for about 10-12 days and the young bird begins to fend for themselves just less than two weeks after hatching. The adult is a rather stocky bird with a fairly short tail and rounded wings. The male is black with a bright red and buff-yellow shoulder patch, the female and juvenile are streaked brown with a buff eye-brow. In central California, the males may have an all-red shoulder patch. Although the Red-winged blackbird may be considered a pest for eating grain in spring, it catches large quantities of crop-damaging insects during the nesting season. It also eats seeds and spiders.