Female Rusty Blackbird
Later in the morning, in another part of the neighborhood, a relatively small flock of blackbirds – not many more than a hundred, as well as I could tell – perched in bare pecan trees and foraged in the grass of a couple of yards. Among them were Common Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, Red-winged Blackbird, European Starling, and a few Rusty Blackbirds. One Rusty Blackbird male stood for a minute or two right beside a Common Grackle, showing a good comparison of their sizes, shapes, bills and plumage. The Rusty looked all black, not glossy, and still showed a shadow of rust in the back and shoulders.
A few minutes later, when I walked back by this same area, most of the blackbirds had moved on to somewhere else. A Brown Thrasher sang from a water oak tree. Chipping Sparrows crept among the brown grass of a lawn, and a pair of Eastern Bluebirds hunted from low perches, the male flashing bright blue.
In another yard, two birds of roughly the same size were separately searching the grass for food. Though I wasn’t close enough at first to see more than dark silhouettes, the way each stood and moved was distinctive – and interesting. One was clearly a big plump Robin, moving in its typical fashion – standing proudly erect and looking around, running a few steps, maybe pecking at the ground, then standing and looking around again. The other bird, not quite as large as the Robin, foraged in a completely different way, low to the ground, head down, searching and moving more steadily over the grass. It looked like a blackbird – and when I got close enough to see it well, it turned out to be a female Rusty Blackbird.
I didn’t see or hear any other blackbirds around, but maybe there were a few, and maybe the flock was not far away. For some reason, I was able to get closer than usual – she didn’t seem skittish – and to stand along the roadside and watch. The striking patterns and colors of her winter look were almost completely gone, mostly replaced by breeding plumage – a sooty dark-gray and dark, muted brown, barely two-toned. Her very pale, round eyes stood out in a startling way, and a faint, wide, pale stripe over the eye was still visible. I watched for several minutes, standing in a soft, chilly mist of rain, until a car passed by and she flew.
I don’t know how much longer the Rusty Blackbirds will be around, but if the male and female of today turn out to be the last good sightings of this winter, it’s a nice way to say goodbye.