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Help develop a Bird ID tool!

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus ORDER: PASSERIFORMES FAMILY: ICTERIDAE

IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern

Its brilliant yellow head, together with its loud, rusty-hinge call, make the Yellow-headed Blackbird a conspicuous presence in western wetlands. It breeds in loose colonies and places its nest over water, attached to cattails and reeds.

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Appearance

Blackbirds
Blackbirds
Typical Voice

Adult Description

  • Large songbird.
  • Male unmistakable with black body and yellow head.

Male Description

Head, neck, and breast bright yellow. Body black. Black stripe in front of eye to bill. White patches in wing may be visible while perched, or hidden; conspicuous in flight.

Female Description

Body dull black and brown. Breast and throat pale yellow. Yellow on neck, face, and above eye. White streaking extending from yellow into brown lower chest.

Immature Description

Juvenile buffy with dark flecks, dark wings and tail, and two large white wingbars; seen only on breeding grounds. Young quickly become similar to adult female. Immature male has more extensive yellow and a thin white patch in the wing.

Range Map Help

Yellow-headed Blackbird Range Map
View dynamic map of eBird sightings

Field MarksHelp

  • Male

    Yellow-headed Blackbird

    Male
    • © Greg W. Lasley/CLO
  • Female

    Yellow-headed Blackbird

    Female
    • © Kevin T. Karlson

Similar Species

  • Male unmistakeable.
  • Female Red-winged Blackbird can be yellowish in face, but is usually more buffy and is extensively streaked.