ML580444871

Age and sex

Unknown age, Male - 1

Media notes

A continuing male Tricolored Blackbird, present since initially reported on 18 May 2023 by Dave Goodward, was here photographed by Curtis A. Marantz on 27 May 2023 at the Lake Tamarisk community, Desert Center, Riverside County, California.

Observation details

Male heard giving the distinctive song that to me sounds a bit intermediate between the songs of Yellow-headed and Red-winged Blackbirds. I described this song as a rather raspy, "tchereeeeu" that seemed to trail off at the end. This bird was much smaller than grackles seen in the same area, with a conspicuously shorter and narrower bill that tapered from a base of medium depth to a finely pointed tip along a culmen that appeared to be straight. The forehead was weakly sloping and the crown was rounded on a head of unremarkable size for a blackbird. The neck was short and inconapicuous, qnd the body was plump, full-chested, and having a posture that was not quite as upright as diagonal and with the tail held downward in the plane of the body. I did not notice the primary projection or the placement of the wings relative to the base of the tail. I thought the tail was of medium length, and thus likely about comparable to the length of the body without the head and neck, and also that it was parallel-sided and at least more-or-less square-tipped. I did not think the length or mass of the legs appeared unusual for a blackbird of this size, but I also did not study them carefully. I saw this bird from a moderate distance and exclusively in the shade, which may explain why it appeared entirely dull black with the exception of the wing pattern. Not only dud I see no iridescence, but I also saw no internal markings in any if the black regions of the plumage. What I did see was a relatively narrow band of white that extended basically across the tips of thhe median coverts to produce a conspicuous and well-defined wjngbar. As far as I could determinne, the greater coverts and remiges were entirely black. A bit hard to see in the closed wing, and I never saw the spread wings, was a small wedge of deep reddish, seemingly with just a hint of orange, right at the shoulder, and likely reflecting lesser coverts visible between the scapulars and flasks. My impression was that the reddish in this bird's wings was darker and less scarlet than that of a Red-winged Blackbird. As far as I could determine, this bird's bill and legs were both black, and its eyes were sufficiently dark as to lack contrast with the entirely black plumage of the head, at least when seen in the shade.

Technical information

Model

ILCE-7RM5

Lens

FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS

ISO

800

Focal length

600 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/6.3

Shutter speed

1/400 sec

Dimensions

2733 pixels x 1681 pixels

Original file size

6.39 MB