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Bob Vuxinic - bobvuxinic@frontiernet.net
Crossville, TN, United States
I thought it was a female Red-wing when I snapped the photo, but looking at the image, I can notice a faint red shoulder which indicates that it is a juvenile male.
Blackbirds & Thrushes
Tag:
Immature male Red-winged Blackbird
It’s a female. Older females can have red/orange shoulders.
In a marshy area i saw some black birds – smaller than starlings. They had a small orange patch just beneath the front if its wing, not on the top of its wing. It is size of a redwing blackbird but the red color was more orange and it was not on the top of the wing. There was no yellow band either. Any ideas?
Hi Jan, Red-winged blackbirds that are not yet in full breeding plumage (especially some juveniles) will have red markings that are not as large, and don’t appear on top of the wings like Red-winged Blackbirds in full breeding plumage. The red feathers can sometimes be more orange in color, and the yellow band can be present, appear more whitish, or be missing entirely, and those colorful feathers vary in size from individual to individual. All of this to say – you did indeed see a Red-winged Blackbird – it just may not be in typical breeding plumage yet. You can see more photos of Red-winged Blackbirds here.
Thanks for the great pic. This bird had me guessing for sometime as to its ID. Really looks nothing like a mature bird other than its size.
My little friend feeds several times a day. Thought it might be an immature red wing blackbird and your photo confirmed it.
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