Handbook of Nature-Study · Lesson XXIX · Topic 2: Bird study: birds to know
29. The red-winged blackbird
Goal: Your child can recognize the male red-wing by his red-and-yellow shoulder patches and song, and the streaky brown female, and explain why she is so plain.
You'll need
- Binoculars
- A marsh, cattail pond, wet ditch or wet meadow
- Nature notebook and colored pencils
What's in the book
The leading thought, the method (early spring flocks, but the study in May or June in a swamp; a few questions at a time) and nine questions about how to know the red-wing, its flight and song, when it arrives, the female, the nest, the young, its food, its value to trees, and when it leaves.
The lesson, step by step
When and where
Males arrive in flocks in late winter or early spring, before the females. Comstock says the main study is best in May or June in almost any swamp. Look in cattails, reeds and wet fields.
Safety: an adult stays close by near water, and boardwalks are best in marshes.
Keep the big idea in mind
Read this to yourself:
The red-winged blackbird lives in the marshes where it builds its nest. However, it comes over to our plowed lands and pastures and helps the farmer by destroying many insects which injure the meadows, crops and trees.
Find the male
How can you distinguish the red-winged blackbird from all other blackbirds? Where is the red on his wings? Is there any other color besides black on the wings?
The song and the show
What is the song of the red-wing? Describe the way he holds his wings and tail when singing, balanced on a reed or some other swamp grass. Does he show off his epaulets when singing? Why?
Comstock's story spells the song "quong queree-ee." How would your child spell it?
The plain mother
Look for brown, streaky birds that look like big sparrows.
What is the color of the mother red-wing? Would you know by her looks that she was a blackbird? What advantage is it to the pair that the female is so dull in color?
Think back to Lesson II.
The nest
At what time do these birds nest? Where is the nest built? Of what material? How is it concealed?
Red-wings defend their nests fiercely and may swoop at people. Stay on the path. Watch nests only from a distance, never touch or take a nest or eggs (that is against the law for most wild birds in the United States), and back away if the parents scold.
Put it into words
Ask your child how to tell a male red-wing from a female, and why they look so different. Then share the leading thought.
Nature notebook
Draw the male singing on a cattail with wings lifted to show his red and yellow epaulets. Draw the female beside him.
Afterwards
Note the date you first hear red-wings in late winter or spring next year.
Tip
Comstock's teacher's story compares spring blackbird flocks to "musical wheelbarrows." Listen for the squeaky chorus.