The aptly named Red-winged Blackbird is one of the more
obnoxious birds in the Vancouver area. During breeding season, territorial
males spend a good portion of their day chasing away competitors and loudly singing,
“Conk-la-REE-ah!” A male will have up
to 15 female mates in his territory, but those girls have been going behind his
back: a quarter to half of “his” females has a baby daddy other than him.
The female Red-winged Blackbirds have neither red nor black
on their body, but are brown and streaky like sparrows. They spend more of
their time foraging and hanging out with their girlfriends than the males do,
since they don’t waste their time trying to prove to the world how macho they
are. Red-winged Blackbirds of both sexes are found year-round in Vancouver
pretty much wherever there are freshwater ponds or lakes. I saw this one at
Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary on February 26.
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