Yellow-Headed Blackbird

The Yellow-headed Blackbirds are a beautiful marsh-dwelling blackbird. in the west.  The male
adult has a bright yellow head, darker in winter, with a black mask. Females are a brownish with a supercilium and breast.  They have a whitish throat with throat with dark lateral stripes, plus a yellow malar stripes above them.

There was a increase in their population in the 70's  Local droughts can alter their numbers.  They breed in deep water wetlands of cattail, rushes or Phragmites.  They forages in adjacent grasslands or farmland.

The photos were taken in Cibola Wildlife Refuge near Blythe, CA, that is some 17,267 acres.

Ferruginous Hawk

The Ferruginous Hawk, Buteo regalis, is a large bird of prey.    It  belongs to the broad-winged buteo hawks.
An old colloquial name is "Ferrugineous Rough-leg", due to its similarity to the closely related Rough-legged Hawk.

Sexes are similar in plumage, but females are larger and show more pigmentation on legs.
There two morphs.  The dark morphs are not seen often.  The light birds are more common seen.

That choose open perches, man made or natural.

I think Carol got my problem solved.










DesertDale took these photo at Cibola Wildlife area.

Sandhill Crane

 Sandhill Crane at Cibola National Wildlife Refuge.  There must have been thousands of them, plus other kinds of birds.  They are very social,  stay in large flocks. 

 They nest around marshes.  At migration and winter they do feed on waste grain in open fields.  Their flight is graceful.  Their necks and legs outstretched and holding their wings mostly above the body. 

Their plumage is gray to white overall.  Adults have a  bare fore crown patterned of red and black.  The juveniles have mostly cinnamon-brown feathered heads and necks.