Birdland

Force Of Nature

With bright red and yellow shoulder epaulets, glossy black male Redwing Blackbirds usually get most of the attention. By contrast, females, like the one pictured here, are a bit more subdued. They look almost like sparrows with crisp brown streaks, pale breasts and whitish eyebrows. Females are smaller than males, and can weigh as little as an ounce. Their songs are distinctive – a chatter that sounds like this: chit chit chit chit chit chit cheer teer teer teerr. This Redwing Blackbird was photographed at Bluff Lake Wildlife Refuge by Park Hill resident Mark Silverstein.