Immature Yellow-headed Blackbirds are generally a brownish color with a
yellowish throat. They are slightly larger than Red-wings, whereas Sralings
are a little smaller length wise, but a little chunkier girth-wise.

I have noticed this year, as I have more carefully watched juvenile
starlings molt (I know, sounds like the mind of a degenerate bander-wannabe)
that the juvenile starlings due take on this blondish sort of tone as the
feathers of this first basic molt come in. The birds I have seen that still
have a patch of juvenile brown feathers here and there seem to look a more
golden or brownish color on their head, but this also seems to not last long
into the winter. Still, I am finding birds with this coloration now, mainly
in the parking lots of your finer fast food restaurants, and I suspect that
this coloration would show.

The younger Yellow-headeds I have seen (my dad sent me a nice picture of one
he banded last year) seem to be several shades of brown darker than the
"blond" of these young starlings.
RK

Ray Korpi, PhD
rkorpi at clark.edu
Portland, OR/Clark College, Vancouver WA
President, Oregon Field Ornithologists


-----Original Message-----
From: Lydia Gaebe [mailto:lgaebe at email.msn.com]
Sent: Thursday, October 28, 1999 6:22 PM
To: Tweeters
Subject: Any Photos of IMMATURE Yellow Headed Blackbirds?


Hi Tweets!

I have been informed the "Blonde Headed Starlings" I spied the other morning
may have actually been immature Yellow Headed Blackbirds. Anybody have
photos of immature Yellow Headed Blackbirds I could look at?

Also in this flock of starlings were what appeared to be immature redwing
blackbirds. So I imagine the "blondies" were the other type of blackbird.

Help is appreciated.
Thanks,

Lydia In Kent, WA
Lydia Gaebe
lgaebe at msn.com

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