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Brewer's Blackbird

Euphagus cyanocephalusOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Blackbirds and Orioles (Icteridae)

Brewer's Blackbird Portrait
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General

Brewer's Blackbird: Medium-sized blackbird with purple gloss on head and neck and green gloss on body and wings. Eyes are yellow. Female is entirely dark gray-brown with darker wings and tail, and dark eyes. Juvenile resembles female, has yellow eyes.

Range and Habitat

Brewer's Blackbird: Breeds from British Columbia, Manitoba, and Ontario south to southern California, New Mexico, and Texas; spends winters as far north as British Columbia and the Carolinas. Preferred habitats include prairies, fields, and farmyards.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"ke-see"

Interesting Facts

  • The Brewer’s Blackbird is named after American ornithologist and naturalist Thomas Mayo Brewer.
  • Its range spread eastward from western Minnesota in the 20th century, taking advantage of human-produced changes in the landscape.
  • Within a colony most females choose the same kind of nest site. A colony may change its nest preference from year to year, building all nests in small bushes one year and in tall trees the next.
  • A group of brewer's blackbirds are collectively known as a "keg" of blackbirds.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Brewer's Blackbird
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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.
Family
Species Euphagus cyanocephalus
Length8.75 - 10.25 Inches
Wingspan15 Inches

Brewer's Blackbird

Brewer's Blackbird: Medium-sized blackbird with purple gloss on head and neck and green gloss on body and wings. Eyes are yellow. Follows farm tractors and plows. Forages on ground. Feeds on caterpillars, insects, fruits, seeds and grains. Strong, swift and direct flight with rapidly beating wings.

● Song: "ke-see"

● Foraging & Feeding: Brewer's Blackbird: Eats insects, caterpillars, fruits, and seeds. Forages on the ground; forms large foraging flocks during migration and winter.

● Breeding & nesting: Brewer's Blackbird: Three to seven brown-spotted, light green or gray eggs are laid in a nest made of coarse grass and twigs, reinforced with mud, lined with fine grass and hair, built on the ground or in a tree; nests in loose colonies of up to 30 pairs. Incubation ranges from 12 to 14 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Brewer's Blackbird: Male Rusty Blackbird lacks purple iridescence. Grackles are larger with much longer tails. Cowbirds are smaller with conical bills.

Flight Pattern

Strong direct flight with powerful rapid wing beats.
Brewer's Blackbird Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Brewer's Blackbird: Breeds from British Columbia, Manitoba, and Ontario south to southern California, New Mexico, and Texas; spends winters as far north as British Columbia and the Carolinas. Preferred habitats include prairies, fields, and farmyards.
BreedingMonogamous, May be polygamous
Population
MigrationNorthern birds migrate
Weight2.4 Ounces