Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Yellow-headed Blackbirds are widespread, abundant, and secure throughout most of their range. The Eastern and Central Breeding Bird Surveys have shown increases in Yellow-headed Blackbird populations of around 2% per year from 1966-1993 while the Christmas Bird Counts have recorded decreases in populations of more than 2% per year. (Stokes and Stokes 1996; Digital Atlas of Idaho 2000). This is a species of special concern in Michigan and in California.
US Migratory Bird Act: protected
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
State of Michigan List: special concern
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
In the spring, several species of blackbirds including the Yellow-headed Blackbird feed on newly planted seed in agricultural fields. They are therefore somewhat responsible for losses farmers absorb in missing crops. (Atkinson 1969)
As an insect eater, the Yellow-headed Blackbird may benefit humans by eating potentially harmful (or painful) insects such as crop-eating grasshoppers.
Insects are the favorite food of the Yellow-headed Blackbird. It also forages on the ground to eat seeds, spiders, grass, and forb seeds. This blackbird can be seen foraging in fields, meadows, ranches, agricultural areas, and farms.
Animal Foods: insects
Plant Foods: seeds, grains, and nuts
Primary Diet: omnivore
During the summer, the yellow-headed blackbird migrates north to the west-central portions of Canada and the United States. Its range extends as far west as central-interior British Columbia, moving directly south through the central-interior west coast to northeastern Baja California. The eastern edge of the Yellow-headed Blackbird's range extends from western Ontario to northern Missouri.
During the winter, it can be found from California to Texas as well as in Mexico and casually in Costa Rica.
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native ); neotropical (Native )
Yellow-headed blackbirds are found in freshwater marshes during the summer. They particularly like to live amongst cattails, tule, and bulrush. During migration and over the winter months, the Yellow-headed Blackbird is found in open, cultivated lands, in fields, and in pastures.
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland ; forest
Aquatic Biomes: lakes and ponds; rivers and streams
Average lifespan
Status: wild: 150 months.
His bright yellow hood and black body best identify the male Yellow-headed Blackbird. A white patch on his wing can be seen both while perched or flying. The female's coloring is more subdued. She can be best identified by her duller-yellow supercilium, throat, and breast. The rest of her body is grayish-brown, and she has white streaks extending down her breast. Juveniles are similar in appearance to the females.
Both male and female Yellow-headed Blackbirds are 9.5 inches (24 cm) long and have sharply pointed black bills. (Gough et al. 1988; Stokes and Stokes 1996)
Average mass: 65 g.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
A polygynous breeder, the male Yellow-headed Blackbird stakes out his claim in a habitat of reeds over permanent open water. Females arrive to the area a few days later and are pursued by the males who sit on elevated vegetation with a spread tail and half-open wings and "sing." Sadly for human listeners, his song is composed of short, choked notes that sound more like a saw grating metal than a Romeo in love. The male Yellow-headed Blackbird may be able to secure up to as many as six mates depending on the quality of his territory. Male Yellow-headed Blackbirds who acquire new territory do not destroy broods sired by the previous territorial male. This tolerance for unrelated young may help them attract new mates as the females may mate and lay a second clutch with the new male.
The female builds a bulky, woven nest of wet vegetation in the reeds over water. As the nest materials dry, it shrinks, tightening its support on the emergent vegetation upon which it is attached. Nest building takes two to four days, and the nest is suspended ½ foot to three feet above the water.
The female Yellow-headed blackbird lays 3-5 greenish-white eggs with dark marks. Incubation lasts 11-13 days, and the chicks are altricial. They fledge within 9-12 days of hatching, and during their time in the nest, both parents feed them. For the first four days after birth, the chicks are fed at least partly by regurgitation. The amount of begging for food by Yellow-headed Blackbird chicks is related to the amount of food the parents bring to the nest. As nestlings, male Yellow-headed Blackbirds are significantly larger than their female counterparts. Yellow-headed Blackbirds only raise one (possibly two) broods each summer while their neighbors, the Red-winged Blackbirds, raises two to three broods (Elrich et al. 1988; Ortega and Cruz 1992; Gori et al. 1996; Stokes and Stokes 1996; Price 1998)
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; oviparous
Average time to hatching: 12 days.
Average eggs per season: 4.
A large (8-11 inches) blackbird, the male Yellow-headed Blackbird is most easily identified by its black body, black wings with white wing patches, yellow head and throat, and black facial mask between the eyes and the bill. Female Yellow-headed Blackbirds are dull brown on the head and body and yellow on the breast. Males are unmistakable in this species’ range, while females may be distinguished from other dull female blackbirds by this species’ characteristic yellow breast pattern. The Yellow-headed Blackbird breeds in the western United States and Canada, primarily on the Great Plains and interior west, but also in California, the Colorado River valley, and the Great Lakes region. Most populations migrate south to the desert southwest, Texas, and northern Mexico during the winter, while the Colorado River valley populations are non-migratory. Individual Yellow-headed Blackbirds occasionally spend the winter in central California and Florida, while others may turn up in the east at any time of the year. Yellow-headed Blackbirds primarily breed in marshes and flooded grasslands. On migration and during the winter, this species may also visit drier habitats, such as fields and meadows. Yellow-headed Blackbirds primarily eat small insects during the summer, switching over to a plant-based diet (mainly seeds and grains) during the winter. In appropriate habitat, Yellow-headed Blackbirds may be seen foraging for food on the ground or on the stalks of marsh grasses. Birdwatchers may also listen for this species’ song, a strange combination of slurred, buzzing, liquid, and trilling notes. Yellow-headed Blackbirds are primarily active during the day.
A large (8-11 inches) blackbird, the male Yellow-headed Blackbird is most easily identified by its black body, black wings with white wing patches, yellow head and throat, and black facial mask between the eyes and the bill. Female Yellow-headed Blackbirds are dull brown on the head and body and yellow on the breast. Males are unmistakable in this species’ range, while females may be distinguished from other dull female blackbirds by this species’ characteristic yellow breast pattern. The Yellow-headed Blackbird breeds in the western United States and Canada, primarily on the Great Plains and interior west, but also in California, the Colorado River valley, and the Great Lakes region. Most populations migrate south to the desert southwest, Texas, and northern Mexico during the winter, while the Colorado River valley populations are non-migratory. Individual Yellow-headed Blackbirds occasionally spend the winter in central California and Florida, while others may turn up in the east at any time of the year. Yellow-headed Blackbirds primarily breed in marshes and flooded grasslands. On migration and during the winter, this species may also visit drier habitats, such as fields and meadows. Yellow-headed Blackbirds primarily eat small insects during the summer, switching over to a plant-based diet (mainly seeds and grains) during the winter. In appropriate habitat, Yellow-headed Blackbirds may be seen foraging for food on the ground or on the stalks of marsh grasses. Birdwatchers may also listen for this species’ song, a strange combination of slurred, buzzing, liquid, and trilling notes. Yellow-headed Blackbirds are primarily active during the day.
The yellow-headed blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) is a medium-sized blackbird with a yellow head.
It is the only member of the genus Xanthocephalus.
Measurements:[2]
Yellow-headed blackbirds[3] are considered to be relatively large blackbirds with large, yellow heads. Their name derives from the Greek word for yellow, xanthous, and the word for head, cephalus.[3] Adults have a pointed bill. The adult male is mainly black with a yellow head and breast; they have a white wing patch sometimes only visible in flight. The adult female is mainly brown with a dull yellow throat and breast. Immature members of both sexes are brown with duller yellow plumage compared to adult males. Immature males also have some white patches on the wing.[4] Both sexes resemble the respective sexes of the smaller yellow-hooded blackbird of South America.
These birds migrate in the winter to the southwestern United States and Mexico. They often migrate in huge flocks with other species of birds. The only regions of the United States where these blackbirds are permanent residents are the San Joaquin Valley and the Lower Colorado River Valley of Arizona and California. It is an extremely rare vagrant to western Europe, with some records suspected to refer to escapes from captivity. When migrating, males and females travel separately. Males typically arrive at the breeding marshes 2-3 weeks before females during spring migration.[5] Research suggests that females choose breeding sites based on the reproductive success (number of young per breeding female) of the site in previous years.[6]
The breeding habitat of the yellow-headed blackbird are marshes in North America (mainly west of the Great Lakes), particularly in plants such as cattails (genus Typha), bulrush (genus Scirpus), and common reeds (genus Phragmites).[7] The nest is built with and attached to marsh vegetation and is constructed over open water.[5] They nest in colonies, often sharing their habitat closely with the red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus). During the breeding and nesting season the males are very territorial and spend much of their time perched on reed stalks and displaying or chasing off intruders.
These birds eat seeds during majority of the year and insects throughout the summer months.[8] They forage in marshes, fields, or on the ground; they sometimes catch insects in flight. Sunflowers are fairly popular amongst yellow-headed blackbirds in the Northern Great Plains, with a study indicating that males eat more sunflower than grains and females more grains than sunflower.[9] Some methods of gathering food involve flipping over stones, catching insects from the top of water, and foraging. Foraging methods take place in uplands, with the flock taking a "rolling" formation in which birds fly from the back to the front of the flock to feed. Female yellow-headed blackbirds primarily feed their newly-hatched young insects from the order Odonata, which includes dragonflies and damselflies.[10] Outside the nesting period, they often feed in flocks, often with related species.
This bird's song resembles the grating of a rusty hinge. Male yellow-headed blackbirds have been observed to have two types of songs, an "accent song" and a "buzz song". The “buzz songs'' have much higher pitch than the accent song, and thus do not echo as well in the dense marshes they live in. For that reason, buzzing songs are typically done when communicating closer whereas accent songs are done to communicate with birds further in the marshes.[11] Female birds have a song that is described to be similar to the male "buzz song", consisting of harsh grating or buzz sounds. Both sexes are also found to elicit harsh calling notes.[12]
Yellow‐headed blackbirds have been found to be sensitive to nest predation risk, for example by marsh wrens (Cistothorus palustris), and alter their nest attendance behavior accordingly.[13]
Raptors occasionally prey on yellow-headed blackbird flocks.[14] For example, media outlets reported that on February 7, 2022, a flock of yellow-headed blackbirds migrating to Chihuahua, Mexico, were seen dropping dead in the early morning.[15] According to experts, it is most likely that the birds were killed due to being flushed from above as a result of a predatory bird (presumably a raptor) chasing them, which caused some of them to fly into each other and crash into the ground and nearby buildings.[16]
Because yellow-headed blackbirds typically reside in wetlands, their population numbers depend on the conditions of the wetlands in which they reside.[17] For instance, drainage projects, herbicides/pesticides, and other crop protection methods have impacts on the health of wetlands, and consequently, cause the bird population to fluctuate in number. Currently, yellow-headed blackbird numbers are stable and will likely remain that way in the long term.
Female
Juvenile
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Yellow-headed blackbirds in flight
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Group of yellow-headed blackbirds in Wyoming
Roosting flock, Whitewater Draw, Arizona
South Padre Island, Texas
The yellow-headed blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) is a medium-sized blackbird with a yellow head.
It is the only member of the genus Xanthocephalus.
