Blackbirds and Orioles

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BIRDS



Birds of Prey
EaglesFalconsHawksOspreyOwls


Waterfowl
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Near Shore Birds
BitternsCranesEgretsHeronsPloversRailsKingfisherPhalaropesSandpipers


Galliforms
GrousePheasantsTurkeys


Corvids
CrowsJays


Other Birds
BlackbirdsCardinalsChickadeesCreepersCuckoosDovesFinchesGrosbeaksGullsHummingbirdsKingletsLarksNight JarsNuthatchesOriolesPigeonsPipitsShrikeSparrowsStarlingsSwiftsSwallowsTernsTanagersThrashersThrushesTitmiceTowheesTyrant FlycatchersWarblersWaxwingsWoodpeckersWrensVireoVultures


Bobolink

(Dolichonyx oryzivorus)
COMMON:Migrates. Common in appropriate habitat. Found in favored habitat, uncut grass land type fields, seen during spring, summer and early fall seasons.

Bobolinks are small songbirds with large, somewhat flat heads, short necks, and short tails. They are related to blackbirds and orioles, and they have a similar shaped, sharply pointed bill. Breeding male Bobolinks are mostly black with a white back and rump, and a rich buffy nape. Females and nonbreeding males are warm buffy brown, streaked with dark brown on the back and flanks. They have bold brown stripes on the crown but are unstreaked on the nape of the neck. The bill is pinkish. In spring, male Bobolinks give conspicuous display flights low over grasslands, fluttering their wings while singing. At other times, Bobolinks stay hidden in tall grasses or brush, clinging to seed heads or foraging on the ground amid the stems. They often migrate in large flocks. Bobolinks are birds of tall grasslands, uncut pastures, overgrown fields and meadows, and the continent’s remaining prairies. While molting and on migration, look for them in marshes and in agricultural fields, particularly rice fields


Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) - © Ken Czworka
Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) - © Ken Czworka



Red-Winged Blackbird

(Agelaius phoeniceus)

COMMON: Migrates. Commonly found throughout nearly everywhere in Western New York from early spring through the summer and fall. Some over winter here. Their song is an early welcome sign of spring.
A stocky, broad-shouldered blackbird with a slender, conical bill and a medium-length tail. Red-winged Blackbirds often show a hump-backed silhouette while perched; males often sit with tail slightly flared. Male Red-winged Blackbirds are hard to mistake. They're an even glossy black with red-and-yellow shoulder badges. Females are crisply streaked and dark brownish overall, paler on the breast and often show a whitish eyebrow. Male Red-winged Blackbirds do everything they can to get noticed, sitting on high perches and belting out their conk-la-ree! song all day long. Females stay lower, skulking through vegetation for food and quietly weaving together their remarkable nests. In winter Red-winged Blackbirds gather in huge flocks to eat grains with other blackbird species and starlings. Look for Red-winged Blackbirds in fresh and saltwater marshes, along watercourses, water hazards on golf courses, and wet roadsides, as well as drier meadows and old fields. In winter, you can find them at crop fields, feedlots, and pastures.

Male Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) - © Ken Czworka
Female Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) - © Ken Czworka


Eastern Meadowlark

(Sturnella magna)
COMMON: Migrates. Common in appropriate habitat during the Spring, summer and early fall. Some winter over.
Eastern Meadowlarks are chunky, medium-sized songbirds with short tails and long, spear-shaped bills. In flight, their rounded wings, short tails, and long bills help set them apart from other grassland songbirds. Eastern Meadowlarks are pale brown marked with black, with bright-yellow underparts and a bold black V across the chest. Though most of the tail is brown with blackish barring, the outer feathers are white and conspicuous during flight. Eastern Meadowlarks walk on the ground, often concealed by grasses or crops. Males sing beautiful, flutelike songs from exposed perches, particularly fenceposts. Their flight is a distinctive sequence of rapid fluttering and short glides, usually low to the ground. In winter you may see flocks of meadowlarks hunting insects in fields. Eastern Meadowlarks live in farm fields, grasslands, and wet fields. They nest on the ground and sing from exposed perches such as treetops, fenceposts, and utility lines.


Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna) - © Ken Czworka
Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna) - © Ken Czworka


Rusty Blackbird

(Euphagus carolinus)

UNCOMMON: Migrates. Best seen in the spring and fall when most are passing through Western New York.
Rusty Blackbird is a medium-sized blackbird with a slender bill and medium-length tail. The bill is slightly decurved. They are a bit larger and longer-tailed than Red-winged Blackbird with a more slender bill. Rusty Blackbird is thinner-billed and shorter-tailed than Common Grackle. In winter, male Rusty Blackbirds are recognized by their rusty feather edges, pale yellow eye and buffy eyebrow. Females are gray-brown; they also have rusty feather edges, pale eyes and a bold eyebrow, contrasting with darker feathers right around the eye. Breeding males are dark glossy black. Rusty Blackbirds are often gather in small flocks in winter, sometimes mix with Common Grackles, Red-winged Blackbirds and European Starlings. They feed on the ground by walking and flipping over leaves and debris. They tend to hold their long tail up when feeding on the ground, which can help pick them out in a flock of Red-winged Blackbirds. Flocks often perch at the tops of trees. Rusty Blackbirds frequently give a distinctive bubbly call, kurlulr-teEE, often ending on a high-pitched rising note. Look for Rusty Blackbirds in wet areas, including flooded woods, swamps, marshes and the edges of ponds. These moist habitats are their favorite foraging areas in winter and during migration. During the breeding season, they favor bogs, beaver ponds and wet woods in boreal forest.


Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) - © Ken Czworka
Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) - © Ken Czworka


Common Grackle

(Quiscalus quiscula)
COMMON: Migrates. Migrates south for the winter. Can commonly be seen throughout WNY from spring through fall.
Common Grackles are large, lanky blackbirds with long legs and long tails. The head is flat and the bill is longer than in most blackbirds, with the hint of a downward curve. In flight, the wings appear short in comparison to the tail. Males are slightly larger than females. Common Grackles appear black from a distance, but up close their glossy purple heads contrast with bronzy-iridescent bodies. A bright golden eye gives grackles an intent expression. Females are slightly less glossy than males. Young birds are dark brown with a dark eye. You’ll often find Common Grackles in large flocks, flying or foraging on lawns and in agricultural fields. They strut on their long legs, pecking for food rather than scratching. At feeders Common Grackles dominate smaller birds. When resting they sit atop trees or on telephone lines, keeping up a raucous chattering. Flight is direct, with stiff wingbeats. Common Grackles thrive around agricultural fields, feedlots, city parks, and suburban lawns. They’re also common in open habitats including woodland, forest edges, meadows, and marshes.


Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) - © Ken Czworka
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) - © Ken Czworka


Brown-Headed Cowbird

(Molothrus ater)
COMMON: Migrates. Can be seen during spring through fall, a very few over-winter in Western New York.
Brown-headed Cowbirds are smallish blackbirds, with a shorter tail and thicker head than most other blackbirds. The bill has a distinctive shape: it’s much shorter and thicker-based than other blackbirds', almost finch-like at first glance. In flight, look for the shorter tail. Male Brown-headed Cowbirds have glossy black plumage and a rich brown head that often looks black in poor lighting or at distance. Female Brown-headed Cowbirds are plain brown birds, lightest on the head and underparts, with fine streaking on the belly and a dark eye. Brown-headed Cowbirds feed on the ground in mixed-species groups of blackbirds and starlings. Males gather on lawns to strut and display for mates. Females prowl woodlands and edges in search of nests. Brown-headed Cowbirds are noisy, making a multitude of clicks, whistles and chatter-like calls in addition to a flowing, gurgling song. You’ll find Brown-headed Cowbirds in many open habitats, such as fields, pastures, meadows, forest edges, and lawns. When not displaying or feeding on the ground, they often perch high on prominent tree branches.


Male Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) - © Ken Czworka
Female Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) - © Ken Czworka


Baltimore Oriole

(Icterus galbula)
COMMON: Migrates. Commonly seen throughout Western New York through the warm weather months of spring, summer and fall.
Smaller and more slender than an American Robin, Baltimore Orioles are medium-sized, sturdy-bodied songbirds with thick necks and long legs. Look for their long, thick-based, pointed bills, a hallmark of the blackbird family they belong to. Adult males are flame-orange and black, with a solid-black head and one white bar on their black wings. Females and immature males are yellow-orange on the breast, grayish on the head and back, with two bold white wing bars. Baltimore Orioles are more often heard than seen as they feed high in trees, searching leaves and small branches for insects, flowers, and fruit. You may also spot them lower down, plucking fruit from vines and bushes or sipping from hummingbird feeders. Watch for the male’s slow, fluttering flights between tree tops and listen for their characteristic wink or chatter calls. Look for Baltimore Orioles high in leafy deciduous trees, but not in deep forests: they’re found in open woodland, forest edge, orchards, and stands of trees along rivers, in parks, and in backyards.


Male Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) - © Ken Czworka
Female Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) - © Ken Czworka