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Twelve Ways of Seeing Blackbirds · Street Smart Naturalist

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  SPEAKER_00: Greetings.
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  SPEAKER_00: This is David B.
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  SPEAKER_00: Williams in the podcast of my newsletter,
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  SPEAKER_00: The Street Smart Naturalist,
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  SPEAKER_00: Explorations of the Urban Kind.
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  Every week I share my observations and adventures with the
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  human and natural world
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  SPEAKER_00: around Seattle,
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  SPEAKER_00: Puget Sound,
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  SPEAKER_00: and the Pacific Northwest.
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  Today's episode celebrates one of my favorite birds,
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  the red-winged blackbird.
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  SPEAKER_00: To learn more about my work, please go to my website, geologywriter.com.
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  You will also find a link to my Substack newsletter and my
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  previous four years of
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  SPEAKER_00: newsletters,
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  SPEAKER_00: as well as images tied to this week's episode.
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  SPEAKER_00: Thanks again for joining me on this adventure,
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  SPEAKER_00: and welcome to Podcast 25 of the Street Smart Naturalist,
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  SPEAKER_00: 12 Ways of Seeing Blackbirds,
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  SPEAKER_00: May 22,
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  SPEAKER_00: 2025.
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  SPEAKER_00: Today,
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  SPEAKER_00: I'd like to highlight a favorite bird of mine,
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  SPEAKER_00: the red-winged blackbird,
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  SPEAKER_00: Agileus phoenikios.
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  SPEAKER_00: One, first name.
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  SPEAKER_00: Red-winged would be a wonderful description if it were correct.
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  SPEAKER_00: The problem,
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  SPEAKER_00: at least in regard to reality,
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  SPEAKER_00: is that red only applies to the bird's shoulder patches.
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  SPEAKER_00: An older first name used to be red-shouldered,
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  but apparently those who named birds eschewed the logic and
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  decided to exaggerate
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  SPEAKER_00: the spread of red.
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  SPEAKER_00: 2.
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  SPEAKER_00: Surname Blackbird is also apt, as the birds are all black.
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  SPEAKER_00: At least, the males are.
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  SPEAKER_00: Recently,
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  bird names have become controversial because of the use of
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  people's names,
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  SPEAKER_00: some of whom are less than savory or deserving of honor.
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  SPEAKER_00: Bird names have another odd aspect.
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  SPEAKER_00: They often derive from the males of the species.
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  Female blackbirds are neither black nor have any red on their
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  wings or any other body part.
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  Similar plumage-based names that favor the guys include
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  mountain bluebird,
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  SPEAKER_00: cinnamon teal,
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  SPEAKER_00: and scarlet tanager.
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  SPEAKER_00: Perhaps we need to reconsider some of those names too.
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  SPEAKER_00: 3.
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  SPEAKER_00: Genus Agileus comes from the Greek for flocking,
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  SPEAKER_00: in reference to large gatherings of this species.
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  SPEAKER_00: In the winter,
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  SPEAKER_00: red-winged blackbirds may form flocks totaling millions of birds,
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  SPEAKER_00: including other blackbirds and starlings.
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  SPEAKER_00: Ornithologist Elliot Couze penned a fine observation about them in 1876.
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  SPEAKER_00: 4.
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  SPEAKER_00: Specific Epithet
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  Phonicios alludes to the color red and originated with the
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  Phoenicians and their
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  SPEAKER_00: city of Tyre,
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  SPEAKER_00: where a red-purple dye began to be produced around 1200 BCE.
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  SPEAKER_00: Known as Tyrian purple because the color hues more purple than red,
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  SPEAKER_00: the dye came from predatory sea snails.
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  SPEAKER_00: Back in the day,
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  SPEAKER_00: around 300 BCE,
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  SPEAKER_00: the dye was the most valuable commodity of its time,
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  SPEAKER_00: three times more expensive than gold.
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  SPEAKER_00: To produce a single tablespoon of dye took 250 shells.
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  SPEAKER_00: Nutty what people do for fashion.
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  SPEAKER_00: 5.
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  SPEAKER_00: Epaulets As noted above,
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  SPEAKER_00: red-winged blackbirds sport red on their shoulders,
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  SPEAKER_00: better known as epaulets.
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  SPEAKER_00: They are particularly vibrant during breeding season.
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  when males erect or flare them,
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  providing a brilliant explosion of color.
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  SPEAKER_00: Epaulet comes originally from the Latin spatula,
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  SPEAKER_00: or flat piece of wood,
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  SPEAKER_00: with a stopover in French which led to epaulet,
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  SPEAKER_00: E-P-A-U-L-E-T-T-E,
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  SPEAKER_00: another common spelling of the term.
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  SPEAKER_00: Not surprisingly, our modern cookie-turning spatula comes from spatula.
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  SPEAKER_00: Six, singing and chatting.
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  SPEAKER_00: They say, Conklery or Oakley.
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  SPEAKER_00: You say, hey, I can identify that.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's always a pleasure,
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  SPEAKER_00: meaning I can actually ID the singer,
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  to hear these birds rolling songs often produced by the perched
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  males high atop a
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  SPEAKER_00: cattail or reed.
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  One study in south-central Washington found that males also
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  produce seven alert calls.
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  SPEAKER_00: Pete, check, chuck, chick, chonk, chink, and cheer.
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  SPEAKER_00: A male bluebird in the study,
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  SPEAKER_00: apparently,
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  SPEAKER_00: like me,
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  SPEAKER_00: rather talkative,
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  switched from cheek to chuck to cheer to chink to cheer to
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  chuck to chick in 15
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  SPEAKER_00: minutes without ever leaving his perch.
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  SPEAKER_00: He then went in eight.
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  SPEAKER_00: Seven.
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  SPEAKER_00: dinner.
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  Four and twenty birds were baked in a pie,
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  or so says the English poem Sing a Song of Sixpence.
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  SPEAKER_00: These birds, though, were not our red-winged blackbirds.
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  SPEAKER_00: Instead,
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  SPEAKER_00: they were the European variety,
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  SPEAKER_00: actually in the thrush family,
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  SPEAKER_00: whereas ours are in the icteridae family.
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  SPEAKER_00: which includes grackles and orioles.
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  I have nary a clue as to how many of our species would fill a
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  pie or why one would do so.
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  SPEAKER_00: 8.
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  Habitat Red wings are birds of the marsh and wetland,
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  as well as croplands and fields.
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  SPEAKER_00: Down at Green Lake near our house,
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  SPEAKER_00: I can reliably count on finding red-winged blackbirds on the water edges,
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  SPEAKER_00: particularly in an area of cattails and reeds along the west side.
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  SPEAKER_00: There,
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  SPEAKER_00: the males make their presence felt,
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  SPEAKER_00: flitting and calling,
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  SPEAKER_00: and letting everyone,
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  SPEAKER_00: bird,
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  SPEAKER_00: dog,
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  SPEAKER_00: and human,
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  SPEAKER_00: know who rules the roost.
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  SPEAKER_00: 9.
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  Gaping In contrast to many bird species who possess powerful
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  muscles for crushing
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  SPEAKER_00: or snapping,
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  SPEAKER_00: the muscles of red wings are better adapted for prying.
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  SPEAKER_00: Known as gaping,
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  this feature allows the birds to expose bugs under rocks or
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  sticks or hiding in
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  SPEAKER_00: gaps in vegetation.
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  SPEAKER_00: Retired University of Washington ecologist Gordon Arians,
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  SPEAKER_00: who studied this adaptation extensively,
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  noted that gaping is particularly effective at unveiling
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  insects under rocks or in
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  SPEAKER_00: streams.
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  SPEAKER_00: 10.
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  SPEAKER_00: Territoriality.
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  Studies have shown that if the male Red Wings intend to fight
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  and protect their
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  SPEAKER_00: turf,
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  SPEAKER_00: they will display their badge of red.
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  SPEAKER_00: But if they are merely visiting or testing a new territory,
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  SPEAKER_00: they may not display,
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  SPEAKER_00: and we'll wait to see what the present owner does.
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  SPEAKER_00: Perhaps we could take a lesson.
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  SPEAKER_00: Be patient and sport red epaulets, but only flare them when necessary.
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  SPEAKER_00: Otherwise, chill out.
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  SPEAKER_00: 11.
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  SPEAKER_00: Birds aplenty, but not what they used to be.
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  One study estimated that 150 million and seven red-wind
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  blackbirds inhabit Canada
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  SPEAKER_00: and the United States.
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  SPEAKER_00: That may seem to be a lot,
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  SPEAKER_00: and it is,
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  SPEAKER_00: but it also represents a population drop of 36% between 1970 and 2014.
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  SPEAKER_00: The reason is stark.
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  A human-driven loss of wetlands has drastically reduced the
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  birds' breeding ground.
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  SPEAKER_00: 12.
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  SPEAKER_00: Poetry.
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  SPEAKER_00: Wallace Stevens' poem,
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  Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird first appeared in print
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  in 1917 in Others,
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  SPEAKER_00: an anthology of the new verse,
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  SPEAKER_00: edited by Alfred Kranberg.
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  SPEAKER_00: You can read the poem on my newsletter.
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  SPEAKER_00: Once again,
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  SPEAKER_00: this is David B.
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  SPEAKER_00: Williams,
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  SPEAKER_00: author and voice of The Street Smart Naturalist,
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  SPEAKER_00: Explorations of the Urban Kind,
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  a weekly newsletter and podcast focusing on the human and
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  natural world around
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  SPEAKER_00: Seattle,
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  SPEAKER_00: Puget Sound,
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  SPEAKER_00: and the Pacific Northwest.
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  SPEAKER_00: If you'd like more details about my books,
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  SPEAKER_00: walks,
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  SPEAKER_00: and talks,
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  SPEAKER_00: and a link to sign up for my newsletter and podcast,
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  SPEAKER_00: check out my website,
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  SPEAKER_00: geologywriter.com.
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  And don't forget to slow down,
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  pay attention,
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  and enjoy the world around you.