The brilliant yellow head and black back of the male contrasts with the drab brown streak of the female Yellow-headed Blackbird. Most males have more than one mate, building their nests in marshy wetlands with lots of emergent vegetation. They defend their territory with a song that sounds like a rusty door hinge.
These animals breed in large numbers and many large colonies exist throughout the Southern Interior. Sporadic populations can be found further north and in the Peace region.
This is a very secretive chicken-like bird with a thick greenish yellow bill and short, erect tail that hides among the rushes, sedges and cattails at the water’s edge. Nests are built in the emergent vegetation, usually just above the water level, and finished off with a dome of vegetation. The distinctive descending call of the Sora is a welcome sound in grasslands wetlands throughout the province.
Often a neighbour of the Yellow-headed and Red-winged blackbirds, Marsh Wrens dart about among the emergent vegetation in search of insects. Males build many intricately woven spherical nests using the emergent vegetation for support, but only one or two are actually used. Marsh wren males can be very aggressive, attacking other wrens and blackbirds.
Want to know more about some species at risk in wetlands?Go to Species at Risk
Here is a list of other representative species in wetlands:
American AvocetAmerican BitternCalifornia GullCommon YellowthroatNorthern HarrierRed-winged BlackbirdWillow FlycatcherRed:American White PelicanPeregrine FalconPrairie FalconWestern GrebeWestern Screech-Owl
Photo: Ducks Unlimited Canada (Yellow headed blackbird)
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