Yellow-headed Blackbird

Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus (Bonaparte, 1826)

Yellow-headed Blackbird, Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus, breeds across marshes in North America and Middle America, from south-western and south-central Canada through the south-western United States to north-western Mexico, and it winters as far south as southern Mexico. It is a blackbird of the family Icteridae and was described by Bonaparte in 1826. Its key feature is the yellow head that gives it its name. It is the only species placed in Xanthocephalus. In the breeding season it uses marsh vegetation, especially cattails, bulrushes and common reeds, and nests in colonies over open water.

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Icteridae — Oropendolas, New World Orioles, Blackbirds

Breeding range

North America, Middle America: sw, sc Canada to sw USA and nw Mexico

Nonbreeding range

to s Mexico