Bird I.D.

This morning, Monterey, Ca

LINK Yellow-headed blackbird - Wikipedia ? Edited May 10, 2020 by Sandy Vongries

I thought it was some kind of oriole because of the orange head, but the black body color doesn't seem to match any oriole.

 

Is that the only image you got?

Thats the only photo that came out, all were a little dark. Maybe I can lighten the shadows a bit. I think Sandy nailed it but its a little out of its territory.

+1 for Sandy’s ID. Yellow-headed blackbird.

Sandy likely got that right. AI least I can’t think of another possibility with that head and body color combination.

No bird expert - I just look up birds quite a bit since we have lots of "strangers". Like anything you search a lot, you get into a kind of rhythm.

I can confirm, based on a vast plethora of the critters in our area. Here's another yellow-headed blackbird, this at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

Funny thing about these is they appear to be ground nesters, though we see them most often perched in the cattails and reeds. Last weekend they were in very active nesting mode, rummaging in the low undergrowth, and then flitting up into the reeds when threatened.

Edited May 11, 2020 by DavidTriplett

Wonder how this one would up on a pier in Monterey.

Wonder how this one would up on a pier in Monterey.

According to the Cornell map, the California coast is within its migration range:

 

Yellow-headed Blackbird Range Map, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

 

Don't think I have ever seen one in California myself, though.

Merlin says yellow headed blackbird.

FYI, the Yellow-headed Blackbird is in the same family as the north american Orioles, Icteridae.

 

This bird is definitely a Yellow-headed Blackbird. They're plentiful in the central valley especially marshy areas like the Yolo Bypass wildlife area. They also breed in the Sierra Valley, north of Truckee.

I really love this photos.