Brewer's Blackbird

Overview

Brewer's Blackbird: Medium-sized blackbird with purple gloss on head and neck and green gloss on body and wings. Eyes are yellow. Follows farm tractors and plows. Forages on ground. Feeds on caterpillars, insects, fruits, seeds and grains. Strong, swift and direct flight with rapidly beating wings.

Range and Habitat

Brewer's Blackbird: Breeds from British Columbia, Manitoba, and Ontario south to southern California, New Mexico, and Texas; spends winters as far north as British Columbia and the Carolinas. Preferred habitats include prairies, fields, and farmyards.

INTERESTING FACTS

Its range spread eastward from western Minnesota in the 20th century, taking advantage of human-produced changes in the landscape.
The Brewer’s Blackbird is named after American ornithologist and naturalist Thomas Mayo Brewer.
Within a colony most females choose the same kind of nest site.
A colony may change its nest preference from year to year, building all nests in small bushes one year and in tall trees the next. A group of brewer's blackbirds are collectively known as a "keg" of blackbirds. The Brewer's Blackbird has a very large range, estimated at 5,300,000 square kilometers globally. It is native to North America, Guatemala, Bahamas, and Turks and Caicos Islands. The bird prefers a temperate grassland habitat, arable or pasture land, or shorelines, sand bars, and tide pools in marine intertidal areas. The population of the bird is estimated at 35,000,000 individuals. The population is not believed to be declining at a rate that would necessitate inclusion on the IUCN Red List. Because of current population trends, Brewer's Blackbird has an evaluation level of Least Concern.