I’m sure you’ve noticed them. Tidy, long lines of patient birds perching on telephone wires, their silhouettes black against the sky. Or perhaps you’ve seen a sinewy black serpent undulating through the sky . . . or a black cloud descending upon a stubby field? Most likely blackbirds. (Photo of a Red-winged Blackbird in silhouette by John J. Mosesso; Public Domain Image.)
This time of year you may find Red-winged Blackbirds and Brown-headed Cowbirds feeding together in a field. (Just two of the many birds in the Family Icteridae, known collectively as “blackbirds.”) A flock of European Starlings passing over (though not family) might invite themselves to dinner as well. Whether different species of blackbirds keep company (for eating and/or migrating) is a matter of what and where they eat, how fast they fly, and where they like to sleep or roost.
Just last evening I was out munching on the remaining blueberries left me by my summering guests, the Eastern Towhee (not a “blackbird”), when a low-flying flock of blackbirds flew over. At first I heard a soft, strange sound, something I couldn’t identify. Preoccupied with the flavor of the berries, I didn’t work too strenuously deciphering the sound, akin to that of the air whishing through a Wiffle Ball when struck--of course, lots and lots of whishing Wiffle Balls. Soon I didn’t have to identify its source because directly overhead flew a flock of blackbirds. As it was dusk, the birds, flying from north to south, appeared black against the darkening sky. From best I could tell, the birds were Red-wings, though that’s not to say that some Cowbirds couldn't have been along for the trip!
Till next time . . . Keep birds in your heart!
Georgia Anne
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