Blackbirds, Bobolinks, Meadowlarks, Grackles, Cowbirds & Orioles family Icteridae
Grassland
Forest preserve hotspots hotspots •
Captain Daniel Wright Woods (Mettawa)
•
McDonald Woods (Lindenhurst)
•
Middlefork Savanna (Lake Forest)
•
Pine Dunes (Antioch)
•
Rollins Savanna (Grayslake) Baltimore oriole Icterus galbula
Bobolink
Dolichonyx oryzivorus
Brewer’s blackbird
Euphagus cyanocephalus
Brown-headed cowbird Molothrus ater
Common grackle Quiscalus quiscula
Eastern meadowlark Sturnella magna
Orchard oriole Icterus spurius
Red-winged blackbird
Species Showcase
Agelaius phoeniceus
Rusty blackbird
Red-winged blackbird
Euphagus carolinus
Yellow-headed blackbird
Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus
Eastern meadowlark
!!
Conk-la-REE! Look at ME! The return of red-winged blackbirds is one of the ways nature tells us spring is around the corner. The male’s red shoulder patches and unmistakable song are first seen and heard at the tail end of winter. Males usually return to Lake County’s wetlands in March, a month before females arrive. They use the time to mark territories with dramatic displays from trees and cattails. Females are more secretive, staying low to the ground and weaving cup-shaped nests for the 2–3 clutches of eggs they’ll lay.
32
Small