Tricolored Blackbird

Agelaius tricolorOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Blackbirds and Orioles (Icteridae)

Codes: Common Name: TRBL Scientific Name: AGETRI ITIS Taxonomic No.: 179060

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Overview

Tricolored Blackbird: Medium-sized blackbird that is mostly black with a glossy blue tint overall. Shoulder patches are bright red and bordered with white. Lives in flocks year round.Feeds on insects, spiders, caterpillars, and seeds from weeds and grains. Strong direct flight on rapid wing beats.

Range and Habitat

Tricolored Blackbird: Breeds in California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, and Baja California. Oregon birds migrate south in winter; California birds are resident. Preferred habitats include annual grasslands, wet and dry vernal pools, and other seasonal wetlands.

Topo Map: Perching-like Body

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"on-ke-kaaangh", "check"

Interesting Facts

The Tricolored Blackbird was classified as endangered in 2006 by BirdLife International.

The majority of their population nest in a small number of large colonies. This is similar to the habits of the Carolina Parakeet, Passenger Pigeon and Great Auk-all extinct colonial breeders.

In the past decade their population has declined by more than 40%.

A group of blackbirds has many collective nouns, including a "cloud", "cluster", and "merl" of blackbirds.

Bird Term Glossary

Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Yury Lisyak

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Tricolored Blackbird

● Song: "on-ke-kaaangh", "check"

● Foraging & Feeding: Tricolored Blackbird: Feeds on a variety of insects, other invertebrates, and seeds. Forages and roosts in large flocks in winter.

● Breeding & nesting: Tricolored Blackbird: Three to four pale blue-green eggs with fine dark lines or spots are laid in a deep cup nest woven from grass, leaves, and mud, lined with fine grass, and bound to plant stems up to 6 feet above the water or ground. Incubation ranges from 11 to 13 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Tricolored Blackbird: Red-winged Blackbird has a yellow, not white, shoulder patch border.

Flight Pattern

Strong swift direct flight on rapidly beating wings.

● Range & Habitat: Tricolored Blackbird: Breeds in California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, and Baja California. Oregon birds migrate south in winter; California birds are resident. Preferred habitats include annual grasslands, wet and dry vernal pools, and other seasonal wetlands.

^BreedingPolygamous, Colonial

^PopulationCommon to abundant

^MigrationSome migrate

^Weight2.4 Ounces

Perching-like Body

Shoulder

The short feathers overlying the median secondary coverts on the top of the wing. They are located near the back and can be seen as the “first row” of feathers on the birds wing. They are also called marginal coverts and lesser secondary coverts.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America