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Friday, April 27, 2012

X is for Xanthocephalus


About all I can say for this picture is that I took it myself, about four cameras ago. It was taken in northern Illinois in the summer of 1993.

This is a yellow-headed blackbird, Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus. It's the only species in that genus!
yellow-headed blackbird

My bird guy says they occasionally pass through here, but they mostly hang out west of Lake Michigan.

They are larger than the red-wing blackbird, and definitely louder!

That summer was the most amazing of my life. Chips was a puppy and we were staying on a 300 acre wetland reserve doing research.


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8 comments:

john bain said...

Now that is what I call a highly convenient bird name, and it has to be a surefire winner!

Lynn Proctor said...

oh what a beautiful bird and an x one too

Angela said...

So you didn't have to search for an X word. Good for you! Lovely pics. Thanks for stopping by my blog, http://angelasfreelancewriting.com

Jake and Terri said...

How lucky to see that bird! Two Xs in one name and a rare bird! Visiting from Bloggin A to Z! Thanks for visiting my blog!

Cassmob (Pauleen) said...

Xcellent to have an X bird name. But I think your puppy is Xcellent is gorgeous too.

Ann said...

how lucky to catch a shot of that bird and how cool that it fit right in for the letter x

Jo said...

My first response was that it was a Prothonotary Warbler which we used to see a lot and which nested in our back yard when we lived in North Carolina. At first glance a very similar looking bird.

Jen said...

Beautiful dog! That sounds like a great summer!