{"id":47290,"date":"2017-06-14T04:39:04","date_gmt":"2017-06-14T10:39:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=47290"},"modified":"2024-09-09T11:39:02","modified_gmt":"2024-09-09T16:39:02","slug":"female-red-winged-blackbirds-frequency-in-misidentification","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/06\/14\/female-red-winged-blackbirds-frequency-in-misidentification\/","title":{"rendered":"Female Red-winged Blackbirds – Frequency in Misidentification"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"FemaleFemale Red-winged Blackbird near her nest – Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, 1\/350, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

I belong to couple of groups on Facebook that are all about birds and in a couple of those groups people ask for bird identification from images they have taken, there are a few groups that are strictly about identification.<\/p>\n

Female Red-winged Blackbirds seem to be the birds that are most often misidentified probably because they look so different from the males. Red-winged Blackbirds are sexually dimorphic.<\/p>\n

sexual dimorphism<\/em><\/p>\n

noun
\n1.
\nthe condition in which the males and females in a species are morphologically different, as with many birds.<\/p>\n

\"BearBear River MBR Red-winged Blackbird female – Nikon D810, f8, 1\/500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I have seen novices identify female Red-winged Blackbirds as Seaside Sparrows, young Varied Thrushes, “some kind of sparrow” and many other misidentifications.\u00a0 In one group alone I think they are misidentified about 10 to 12 times a day.<\/p>\n

Bill shape, bill size, body size, shape, color, plumage patterns, leg color, leg length and eye color can all be used as keys to identification in Red-winged Blackbirds and all other birds.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale Red-winged Blackbird on a Sea Oat stalk – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/800, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 360mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I wanted to include a photo of a male Red-winged Blackbird for comparison, the males and females really do not look alike in color or plumage, but they do have the same shape, the same bill size and shape, and the same legs and eye color.<\/p>\n

Bird identification can be complicated and for novices I always recommend purchasing field guides or downloading bird guide apps to their phones especially if they are serious about photographing birds. The guides really help but actually studying the guides is more helpful.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Top and bottom images were taken at Fort De Soto County Park<\/span><\/a> in Florida, the middle image was taken at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a> in Utah.<\/em><\/p>\n

Click here<\/a><\/span> to see more of my Red-winged Blackbird photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Female Red-winged Blackbirds seem to be the birds that are most often misidentified probably because they look so different from the males. Red-winged Blackbirds are sexually dimorphic . <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":134282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,27,1148,25,704,2000,419,26],"tags":[4151,8813,8814,164,3813,3483,8815,8817,8810,5505,4070,5918,5013,8821,8819,8820,4062,1149,5917,8812,8818,4324,8811,8816],"class_list":["post-47290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-florida","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","category-pinellas-county-florida","category-red-winged-blackbirds","category-utah","tag-agelaius-phoeniceus","tag-bill-shape","tag-bill-size","tag-bird-identification-2","tag-blackbird","tag-blackbirds","tag-body-size","tag-color","tag-common","tag-eye-color","tag-female","tag-females","tag-identification","tag-keys","tag-leg-color","tag-leg-length","tag-male","tag-males","tag-misidentification","tag-misidentified","tag-plumage-patterns","tag-red-winged-blackbird","tag-sexual-dimorphism","tag-shape"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/red-winged-black-bird-mangroves-mia-mcpherson-5891.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-ciK","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":138760,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/01\/14\/female-red-winged-blackbirds-in-fog-and-snow\/","url_meta":{"origin":47290,"position":0},"title":"Female Red-winged Blackbirds In Fog And Snow","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 14, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"After the recent snowstorm in Arkansas, I photographed several female Red-winged Blackbirds in foggy, snowy conditions. I had a great time taking their photos.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Red-winged Blackbirds in fog and snow, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/red-winged-blackbird-females-snow-fog-mia-mcpherson-9324.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/red-winged-blackbird-females-snow-fog-mia-mcpherson-9324.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/red-winged-blackbird-females-snow-fog-mia-mcpherson-9324.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/red-winged-blackbird-females-snow-fog-mia-mcpherson-9324.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14615,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/03\/25\/red-winged-blackbirds-are-courting-and-nesting-at-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":47290,"position":1},"title":"Red-winged Blackbirds are Courting and Nesting at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 25, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The Red-winged Blackbirds at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge have courting and nest building on their minds now that spring is upon us.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Red-winged Blackbird with nesting material at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-blackbird-female-nesting-material-mia-mcpherson-9331.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-blackbird-female-nesting-material-mia-mcpherson-9331.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-blackbird-female-nesting-material-mia-mcpherson-9331.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-blackbird-female-nesting-material-mia-mcpherson-9331.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4574,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/03\/02\/red-winged-blackbirds\/","url_meta":{"origin":47290,"position":2},"title":"Red-winged Blackbirds","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Red-winged Blackbirds are birds that I associate with spring, the males begin calling perched on top of reeds, cattails, grasses and shrubs and flash their brightly colored coverts to attract a mate.","rel":"","context":"In "Florida"","block_context":{"text":"Florida","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/florida\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Red-winged Blackbird with nesting material, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-black-bird-female-nesting-mia-mcpherson-5888.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-black-bird-female-nesting-mia-mcpherson-5888.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-black-bird-female-nesting-mia-mcpherson-5888.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-black-bird-female-nesting-mia-mcpherson-5888.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":121811,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/02\/23\/urban-red-winged-blackbird-male-singing\/","url_meta":{"origin":47290,"position":3},"title":"Urban Red-winged Blackbird Male Singing","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 23, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I dug way back into my files this morning to share this urban Red-winged Blackbird male singing. The date was February 23, 2014, the location was my local pond.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Urban Red-winged Blackbird male singing on a cattail, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/red-winged-blackbird-male-urban-songster-mia-mcpherson-0773.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/red-winged-blackbird-male-urban-songster-mia-mcpherson-0773.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/red-winged-blackbird-male-urban-songster-mia-mcpherson-0773.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/red-winged-blackbird-male-urban-songster-mia-mcpherson-0773.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7734,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/03\/02\/songs-of-spring-red-winged-blackbirds\/","url_meta":{"origin":47290,"position":4},"title":"Songs of Spring – Red-winged Blackbirds","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Fairly soon I'll be seeing many more of the male Red-winged Blackbirds perching at the top of rushes and cattails singing springtime serenades for the females and flashing their brilliantly colored epaulets","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Red-winged Blackbird on a cattail at Bear River MBR, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-blackbird-mia-mcpherson-male-5855.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-blackbird-mia-mcpherson-male-5855.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-blackbird-mia-mcpherson-male-5855.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":83662,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/04\/07\/female-red-winged-blackbird-munching-a-midge\/","url_meta":{"origin":47290,"position":5},"title":"Female Red-winged Blackbird Munching A Midge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 7, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"What I liked about this photo was that I caught the female Red-winged Blackbird with her bill open while she was munching on a midge.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Red-winged Blackbird munching a midge, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-blackbird-female-munching-midge-mia-mcpherson-3723.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-blackbird-female-munching-midge-mia-mcpherson-3723.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-blackbird-female-munching-midge-mia-mcpherson-3723.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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