Brewer's Blackbird Euphagus cyanoceplialus

Brewer's Blackbird Euphagus cyanoceplialus This sociable bird is commonly seen with Brown-headed Cowbirds and Red-winged Blackbirds. Brewer's eats a variety of insect pests, such as aphids, cankerworms, grasshoppers, termites, and weevils, and often follows along behind a tractor as it plows the soil. It nests from low-elevation farmland to mountain meadows.

Identification 8-10". Breeding male glossy black with a long, sharp, conical bill and a whitish eye. In good light, head looks purplish and body looks greenish. Female and immature gray-brown, darker on lower back, wings, and tail; eyes brown.

Voice Song a hoarse, creaky kseeee or ksheek; call a harsh check!

Habitat Pastures, riverside thickets, brushy savanna, towns, farms, and ranches.

Range Breeds from central British Columbia east to Michigan, south to S. California, Nevada, and New Mexico. Winters from S. British Columbia, Colorado, Oklahoma and S. Carolina south into Mexico.