Yellow-headed Blackbird

The Yellow-headed Blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) is a medium-sized blackbird and the only member of genus Xanthocephalus.

Adults have a pointed bill. Males are mainly black with a yellow head and breast; they have a white wing patch sometimes only visible in flight. Females are mainly brown with a dull yellow throat and breast.

Their breeding habitat includes cattail marshes in North America, mainly east of the Great Lakes. The nest is built with and attached to marsh vegetation. They often nest in colonies.

These birds migrate to the southwestern United States and Mexico. They often migrate in flocks.

These birds forage in the marsh, in fields or on the ground; they sometimes catch insects in flight. They mainly eat seeds and insects. Outside of the nesting period, they often feed in flocks, often with other blackbirds.

This bird’s song resembles the grating of a rusty hinge.