Brewer's blackbird Euphagus cyanocephalus

Identification Tips:

• Length: 8 inches
• Sharply-pointed bill

Male:

• Entirely black plumage with purple gloss to head
• May have gray edges in Fall and Winter to upperparts and pale supercilium
• Pale eye

Female:

• Dark eye
• Dark gray plumage

Similar species:

Male Rusty Blackbird similar to male Brewer's Blackbird but lacks purple iridescence. Female Rusty Blackbird has a light eye. Grackles are larger with much longer tails. Cowbirds are smaller with more conical bills.

Length and wingspan from: Robbins, C.S., Bruun, B., Zim, H.S., (1966). Birds of North America. New York: Western Publishing Company, Inc.