A medium-sized blackbird with iridescent purple-blue head in males.
§ Quick facts
§ Encyclopedia
Brewer's blackbird is a medium-sized New World blackbird. It is named after the ornithologist Thomas Mayo Brewer.
Source: Wikipedia — Brewer's blackbird Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
§ Identification
Field marks. Male glossy black with a purplish head sheen, greenish body iridescence, and a pale yellow eye; female plain gray-brown with a dark eye.
Similar species. Common Grackle is larger with a long keeled tail; Rusty Blackbird shows rusty feather edges in fall. The pale eye (male) and even-length tail mark Brewer's.
Voice. A harsh, creaking 'k-sheee' and sharp 'check' notes.
§ Diet & behavior
Diet. Insects, seeds, fruits depending on species.
Behavior. A glossy blackbird of open western country, farms, and parking lots; struts on the ground with a forward head-bob and gathers in large flocks outside the breeding season.
§ Range
Western North America
§ Habitat
Diverse habitats
§ Threats
Habitat loss.
§ Conservation status
According to the IUCN Red List, the brewer's blackbird is currently classified as Least Concern.
§ What helps
Support western habitat conservation.
§ Further reading
- Wikipedia — Brewer's blackbird
- www.allaboutbirds.org — authoritative profile of Euphagus cyanocephalus
- IUCN Red List — search for Euphagus cyanocephalus
- GBIF occurrence records
- Encyclopedia of Life — Euphagus cyanocephalus
§ Sources cited
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology — All About Birds
- National Audubon Society
- iNaturalist
- IUCN Red List
