Yellow-Headed Blackbird
Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus
Closely related to meadowlarks, the Yellow-headed Blackbird breeds in reedy marshes overmuch of the western and north central USA. These highly migratory birds spend summers in North America from the Great Lakes into Canada’s prairie provinces, and west to central Washington, Oregon, eastern California, Nevada, and most western USA, including the northern Mississippi Valley. When winter approaches most of these birds head south into Mexico, while some will stay in the USA just north of the border.
I’ve enjoyed meeting these birds in the western USA during my travels. I usually find them in cattail marshes, though in Arizona I’ve found them at feed lots and freshly tilled agricultural fields.

Yellow-Headed Blackbird(Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) |
Description: I found both Yellow-Headed and Red-Winged Blackbirds at Lee Metcalf NWR in the Bitterroot Valley near Stevensville, Montana. |
Date Taken: 2015:05:26 15:45 |
Location:
Lee Metcalf NWR |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: D3X4959-YellowHeadedBlackBird |
© 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Yellow-Headed Blackbird(Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) |
Description: Cibola NWR, South of Blyth, CA. In Arizona near the Colorado River. |
Date Taken: 2004:04:02 14:12 |
Location:
Goose Loop |
Camera Information: NIKON D1X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/160 |
File Name: JCD_6427YellowHeadedBlackBird |
© 2004 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Yellow-Headed Blackbird(Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) |
Description: Cibola NWR, South of Blyth, CA. In Arizona near the Colorado River. |
Date Taken: 2004:04:02 13:45 |
Location:
Goose Loop |
Camera Information: NIKON D1X, 800 mm, f/9.0, 1/125 |
File Name: JCD_6376YellowHeadedBlackBird |
© 2004 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Yellow-Headed Blackbird(Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) |
Description: Cibola NWR, South of Blyth, CA. In Arizona near the Colorado River. |
Date Taken: 2004:04:02 11:51 |
Location:
Goose Loop |
Camera Information: NIKON D1X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/200 |
File Name: JCD_6227YellowHeadedBlackBird |
© 2004 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Yellow-Headed Blackbird(Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) |
Description: Near the feed lot outside of Red Rock, Arizona. |
Date Taken: 2008:11:29 13:11 |
Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 800 mm, f/6.3, 1/640 |
File Name: jcd3039YellowHeadedBlackBird |
© 2008 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |


Yellow-Headed Blackbird(Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) |
Description: Bicknell Bottoms south of Bicknell, Utah. |
Date Taken: 2015:05:07 16:29 |
Location:
Bicknell Bottoms |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: D3X9962-YellowHeadedBlackBird |
© 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Yellow-Headed Blackbird(Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) |
Description: Bicknell Bottoms south of Bicknell, Utah. |
Date Taken: 2015:05:07 14:46 |
Location:
Bicknell Bottoms |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/500 |
File Name: D3X9826-YellowHeadedBlackBird |
© 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Yellow-Headed Blackbird(Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) |
Description: Bicknell Bottoms south of Bicknell, Utah. |
Date Taken: 2015:05:08 14:26 |
Location:
Bicknell Bottoms |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: D3X0237-YellowHeadedBlackBird-Female |
© 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Yellow-Headed Blackbird(Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) |
Description: Male bird on breeding grounds at the Visitor Center on the north edge of Jackson, Wyoming. |
Date Taken: 2015:05:16 18:56 |
Location:
Jackson Visitor Center |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 |
File Name: D3X2941-YellowHeadedBlackBird |
© 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Yellow-Headed Blackbird(Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) |
Description: At the Visitor Center on the north edge of Jackson, Wyoming. |
Date Taken: 2015:05:16 11:56 |
Location:
Jackson Visitor Center |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/1600 |
File Name: D3X2785-YellowHeadedBlackBird |
© 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Yellow-Headed Blackbird(Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) |
Description: Male bird on breeding grounds at the Visitor Center on the north edge of Jackson, Wyoming. |
Date Taken: 2015:05:16 11:56 |
Location:
Jackson Visitor Center |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 |
File Name: D3X2783-YellowHeadedBlackBird |
© 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Yellow-Headed Blackbird(Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) |
Description: Near the feed lot outside of Red Rock, Arizona. |
Date Taken: 2013:08:29 15:18 |
Location:
Red Rock |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: D3X2510-YellowHeadedBlackBird |
© 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging |


Yellow-Headed Blackbird(Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) |
Description: Cibola NWR in Arizina, south of Blythe, California. |
Date Taken: 2014:11:24 16:19 |
Location:
Cibola NWR |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: D3X2154-YellowHeadedBlackBird |
© 2014 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |


Yellow-Headed Blackbird(Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) |
Description: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, 17 miles west of Brigham City Utah. |
Date Taken: 2015:05:12 16:57 |
Location:
Bear River |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: D3X1709-YellowHeadedBlackBird |
© 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Yellow-Headed Blackbird(Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) |
Description: Bicknell Bottoms south of Bicknell, Utah. |
Date Taken: 2015:05:08 14:26 |
Location:
Bicknell Bottoms |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: D3X0250-YellowHeadedBlackBird-Female |
© 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Yellow-Headed Blackbird(Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) |
Description: Dirty Socks Spring at the southern edge of the Owens Lake Basin, between Lone Pine and Olancha. |
Date Taken: 2016:04:20 17:11 |
Location:
Dirty Socks Spring |
Camera Information: NIKON D7200, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1600 |
File Name: D727911-YellowHeadedBlackbird |
© 2016 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Yellow-Headed Blackbird(Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) |
Description: Dirty Socks Spring at the southern edge of the Owens Lake Basin, between Lone Pine and Olancha. |
Date Taken: 2016:04:20 17:12 |
Location:
Dirty Socks Spring |
Camera Information: NIKON D7200, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: D727919-YellowHeadedBlackbird |
© 2016 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Yellow-Headed Blackbird(Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) |
Description: Dirty Socks Spring at the southern edge of the Owens Lake Basin, between Lone Pine and Olancha. |
Date Taken: 2016:04:20 16:25 |
Location:
Dirty Socks Spring |
Camera Information: NIKON D7200, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: D727789-YellowHeadedBlackbird |
© 2016 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Yellow-Headed Blackbird(Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) |
Description: Near Cottonwood Spring in southern Joshua Tree National Park. Riverside County California. |
Date Taken: 2016:09:29 8:33 |
Location:
Cottonwood Spring |
Camera Information: NIKON D7200, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1600 |
File Name: YellowHeadedBlackBird_D727489-Web |
© 2016 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Yellow-Headed Blackbird(Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) |
Description: Near Cottonwood Spring in southern Joshua Tree National Park. Riverside County California. |
Date Taken: 2016:09:29 8:23 |
Location:
Cottonwood Spring |
Camera Information: NIKON D7200, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/3200 |
File Name: YellowHeadedBlackBird_D727440-Web |
© 2016 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Yellow-Headed Blackbird(Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) |
Description: Near Cottonwood Spring in southern Joshua Tree National Park. Riverside County California. |
Date Taken: 2016:09:29 8:05 |
Location:
Cottonwood Spring |
Camera Information: NIKON D7200, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2500 |
File Name: YellowHeadedBlackBird_D727426-Web |
© 2016 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Yellow-Headed Blackbird(Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) |
Description: Dirty Socks Spring at the southern edge of the Owens Lake Basin, between Lone Pine and Olancha. |
Date Taken: 2016:04:20 16:29 |
Location:
Dirty Socks Spring |
Camera Information: NIKON D7200, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1250 |
File Name: D727855-YellowHeadedBlackbird |
© 2016 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Yellow-Headed Blackbird(Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) |
Description: Dirty Socks Spring at the southern edge of the Owens Lake Basin, between Lone Pine and Olancha. |
Date Taken: 2016:04:20 16:34 |
Location:
Dirty Socks Spring |
Camera Information: NIKON D7200, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1250 |
File Name: D727896-YellowHeadedBlackbird |
© 2016 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |

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