YELLOW - HEADED BLACKBIRD (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus): 8-11 in. Head, neck, and breast yellow; rest of plumage black except large white patch on black wing. Female: Smaller than male; grayish-brown, faintly streaked below; throat, upper chest, and line over eye yellowish; no wing-patch. Frequents tule marshes and adjacent meadows or cultivated ground chiefly in the Lower Sonoran to the Transition life zone. C. V. to the Yosemite region. Has been recorded occasionally in Yosemite Valley.

WESTERN MEADOWLARK

WESTERN MEADOWLARK (Sturnella neglecta): 8-10 in. Upper parts brown, marked with dusky and buff; under parts yellow with black crescent on breast; buffy line through crown; yellow or buffy line over eye; outer tail feathers white; short tail.

R. in open grasslands, breeding in the Lower Sonoran to the Transition life zone. Seen in the San Joaquin Valley into the Sierran foothills. In the Yosemite region after the breeding season may be found to high altitudes as on top of Half Dome and near Ten Lakes, 9,700 feet. Occasionally seen in Yosemite Valley.

REDWINGED BLACKBIRD

REDWINGED BLACKBIRD (Agelaius phoeniceus): 7-9 1/2 in. (Ill. p. 54) Entire plumage black; wing-bend patch scarlet, bordered by buffy or orange in all except one subspecies; feathers of back edged with rusty in winter. Female: Crown dark brown with bully streaks; buffy stripe over eye; back brown; under parts streaked with dark brown, tinged with buffy in winter.

Frequents marshes, moist fields, and margins of ponds, lakes, and slowly flowing streams where grown to tules, sedges, and willows. Inhabits the Lower Sonoran to the Transition life zone during the breeding season. Found locally in the Yosemite region below the Canadian life zone. Common in open wet meadows of Yosemite Valley in spring and early summer, where they nest, the males to be seen conspicuously guarding the nests.

BULLOCK’S ORIOLE

BULLOCK’S ORIOLE (Icterus bullockii): 7 1/2-8 1/2 in. Forehead, line over eye, cheeks, and most of under parts orange running to yellowish on belly and outer tail feathers; rump yellowish; top of head, upper back, much of wings, and central area in tail black; wing marked with broad patch of white; black stripe on throat extends down from bill; black line runs from bill through eye to occiput. Female: Upper parts gray, washed on head with yellow; tail yellowish-brown; wings brown with whitish bars; sides of throat and breast yellowish, remaining under parts whitish except yellow beneath tail.

Frequents streamside and oak woodland in the Lower Sonoran to the Transition life zone. Common S. V. at lower elevations on the west side of the Sierra. C. V. to Yosemite Valley.

BREWER’S BLACKBIRD

BREWER’S BLACKBIRD (Euphagus cyanocephalus): 8-9 1/2 in. Whole plumage glossy black; iris white. Female: Head and neck grayish-brown; remainder of plumage dark brown to blackish; iris brown. Usually seen in flocks.

Frequents grasslands meadows, stream and lake borders, lawns, and cultivated fields, usually where there are scattered trees for roosting and nesting. Inhabits the Lower Sonoran to the Canadian life zone. In the Yosemite region nests as high as the floor of Yosemite Valley and in summer and fall ranges upward nearly to timberline. Migrates to lowlands in winter. One of the most abundant birds in Yosemite Valley in spring and summer.

BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD

BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD (Molothrus ater): 7-8 in. Whole body glossy black except head, neck, and breast chestnut-brown; eye dark; short conical bill; feet black. Female: Smaller than male; grayish-brown; throat and sides of head lighter; faintly streaked. Has habit of frequently pointing its beak directly upward. Lays its eggs in the nests of other birds.

Frequents lowlands where meadows and pastures are situated near tracts of willows and cottonwoods. Inhabits chiefly the Lower and Upper Sonoran life zones but occasionally enters the Transition zone. C. V. to the Yosemite region. Commonly seen in Yosemite Valley.

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