northeast-flora-and-fauna

Okay, I have to admit when I took this picture I thought I was seeing a Common Grackle . But when I posted it to iNaturalist, it suggested a Rusty Blackbird , and other people agreed with this identification. Though in the same family , these species are in different genera and so are probably not really close relations [1]. You might wonder why they're called Rusty Blackbirds since this fella looks black, maybe with a slight bluish sheen. Rusty Blackbirds were named for their non-breeding plumage which actually does look a bit rusty, or at least an uneven brown color. This is presumably a male that may not be in his breeding range but does have his breeding plumage. With this plumage they resemble the dark, shiny, light-eyed grackles. We're supposed to differentiate them by the Rusty Blackbird being smaller (hard to judge from a distance), having a smaller tail, and having a less robust beak. These birds also resemble the Brewer's Blackbird , a close relative that isn'...