While walking Green Lake this morning, my friend and I saw a "bald"
Red-winged Blackbird on the north side near the Grebe nest - he had no
feathers on the top of his head. Can I presume that this young male (he
had no red coloring on his wings - just a small patch of yellow) had lost a
territorial bid? You could see some scabbing on his head. I've never seen
a bald wild bird before, just our domestic chickens when they're
establishing their pecking order. The contrast between his black plumage
and his red scalp was pronounced and elicited a few laughs. Hopefully
he'll be fully feathered again soon.


Patti Gotz
Seattle - Roosevelt Neighborhood
plsgotz at home.com