Brewer's Blackbirds

Significantly more common and widespread than Sunday's Surfbird, Brewer's Blackbirds are familiar to many across the western United States as "parking lot birds," often encountered in close proximity to humans as they shamelessly seek handouts.

These Brewer's Blackbirds were hanging out around the parking areas (and picnickers) at Point Pinos in Monterey last weekend.  But I was happy to see that the whole flock actively engaged in catching flying insects (namely, the flies that so adore piles of beach wrack) rather than feeding on crumbs and garbage left behind by careless tourists.

Members of the blackbird family (Icteridae), Brewer's Blackbirds are closely related to orioles, grackles and meadowlarks.  Like some other members of their family, they are gregarious and social birds, nesting in colonies of up to one hundred birds.  They typically nest in trees and shrubs near water, but may also nest in reeds or cattails, tree cavities, and even on the ground. 

Traditionally birds of fields and grasslands, they excel alongside human development and are commonly seen in towns, particularly with large open areas such as parks, golf courses and agricultural fields, where they are considered pests. 

Brewer's Blackbirds often flock together with similar birds, such as Red-winged Blackbirds, grackles, cowbirds and European Starlings, making identification tricky for the novice birder.  Males can be distinguished by their iridescent purple-to-green plumage and bright yellow eyes, and easily separated from grackles by their shorter tails.  Female Brewer's Blackbirds are drab in color rather than striped like female Red-winged Blackbirds.