Unusual Bird: Red-winged Blackbird Featherless Head

5 comments on “Unusual Bird: Red-winged Blackbird Featherless Head”

1. 

   Ron Burnett on May 31st, 2020 - 6:46pm

   I saw one today with a bald spot on crown of its head and part way down the back of its neck. I assume it is in some stage of molting. In Roundup MT

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2. 

   Carmelina on July 23rd, 2020 - 3:36pm

   I have a red-winged black with a molted head visiting my bird feeder. I knew that Blue Jays molted their head feathers but not blackbirds. Did a search to be sure he wasn’t sick. Glad to find this image. 🙂 lol

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3. 

   juanita Vetter on July 7th, 2021 - 7:09am

   July 7, 2021. Just had a redwing black bird at my feeder with no head feathers. Is this the time of year they are molting? I thought they molted I the spring.

   Reply
4. 

   Amber on July 12th, 2021 - 9:30am

   We just saw a red winged blackbird at our feeder with absolutely no feathers on its head but full plumage otherwise. Also wondering if he might have been sick or something. I’ve never seen one looking like that before.
   Southeast Michigan

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     Holly Grant, Project Assistant on July 12th, 2021 - 2:22pm

     Hi Amber, Usually when a bird is bald, it is dealing either with an abnormal molt (most often seen in cardinals and Blue Jays) or it could be related to mites, or a nutritional factor. You can learn more about bald-headed birds here.

     Reply