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  Profile

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  In flight

Songbirds

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus

• rare
• 55 km/h
• Least Concern

Looks like a blackbird that dipped its head in egg yolk. Sounds like a rusty gate being murdered.

Population

~12 million mature individuals, relatively stable over three generations (slight negative annual trend per Partners in Flight 2024)

Habitat

Freshwater wetlands — marshes, bogs, swamps, and reed/cattail beds; nests over standing water and forages in adjacent farm fields and grasslands during the non-breeding season

Fun fact

The oldest known Yellow-headed Blackbird on record lived at least 11 years and 8 months, banded in Saskatchewan in 1983 and recovered in Nebraska in 1995.

Range

Breeds across the prairies and western/central regions of Canada and the USA; winters mainly in the southwestern USA and Mexico, with occasional vagrancy into Central America and the Caribbean

Diet

Omnivorous — insects and aquatic invertebrates especially during breeding season, plus seeds and grains (including sunflower and waste grain) the rest of the year

Size

0.235 m

Wingspan

0.43 m

Lifespan

11.7 years