The yellow-headed blackbird is a medium-sized blackbird with a yellow head.
Region
North America
Typical Environment
Breeds in prairie and intermountain wetlands from south-central Canada through the western and northern United States. Prefers extensive marshes with dense stands of cattails, bulrushes, or reeds, where nests are attached to emergent vegetation over shallow water. In the nonbreeding season it spreads into arid lowlands, agricultural areas, and wetlands of the southwestern United States and Mexico. It roosts communally and may travel considerable distances daily between roosts and feeding sites.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 2500 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The yellow-headed blackbird is a marsh-nesting icterid of western and central North America, with males showing a striking golden head and chest set against a glossy black body. It often forms huge mixed-species flocks with other blackbirds and starlings outside the breeding season. Males are strongly territorial in colonies, while females build nests over water among cattails and reeds.
Temperament
social outside breeding, territorial at colonies
Flight Pattern
direct flight with steady, deliberate wingbeats
Social Behavior
Breeds in dense colonies in marshes, with males defending territories that may include multiple nesting females (polygyny). Nests are woven to stems of emergent plants over water, helping deter many predators. Outside the breeding season it forms large roosts and forages in mixed flocks with other icterids and starlings.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
The male’s song is a harsh, buzzing screech often likened to a rusty hinge or creaking gate, preceded by a few chucks. Calls include sharp chatters and harsh notes used in territorial displays and flock contact.
Plumage
Males are glossy black with a vivid yellow head and breast and a prominent white wing patch; females are brownish with a duller yellow throat and face. Feathers are sleek, with strong contrast between the yellow head and black body in males. Juveniles resemble females but are more uniformly brown.
Diet
In the breeding season it consumes a wide array of insects, including aquatic larvae, dragonflies, beetles, and grasshoppers, often gleaned from vegetation or captured near the water’s surface. It also takes spiders and small aquatic invertebrates. In fall and winter it shifts heavily to seeds and grains such as waste corn, wheat, and grass seeds, while still taking some invertebrates when available.
Preferred Environment
Feeds along marsh edges, among cattails and bulrushes, and on exposed mud or floating vegetation. In winter it commonly forages in agricultural fields, feedlots, and open scrub near wetlands, often in large flocks.
