Release!
A female red-winged blackbird at the point of release from a cattail as it takes flight to deal with some perceived grievance with a neighbor.
The behaviour of the females is like that of a male. They sing in the same way and do sky pointing, too. They are not as dramatic in the execution of those actions, but they sure chase other blackbirds as energetically.
I've noticed that crows and ravens have started stealing their eggs already. It is a spring ritual that involves lots of squawking and fluttering and mobbing of the intruder, but when the crow or raven is actually in the act of taking the eggs (or young), they seem to just perch and watch. That seems odd, to me.
Release!
A female red-winged blackbird at the point of release from a cattail as it takes flight to deal with some perceived grievance with a neighbor.
The behaviour of the females is like that of a male. They sing in the same way and do sky pointing, too. They are not as dramatic in the execution of those actions, but they sure chase other blackbirds as energetically.
I've noticed that crows and ravens have started stealing their eggs already. It is a spring ritual that involves lots of squawking and fluttering and mobbing of the intruder, but when the crow or raven is actually in the act of taking the eggs (or young), they seem to just perch and watch. That seems odd, to me.