Where’s Wildlife · Bird Field Guide
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus
Pronounced (approx.): zan-thoh-SEF-uh-lus zan-thoh-SEF-uh-lus
Adult males have a bright yellow head and chest on a black body. Explore the photographs, learn its field marks, and discover where to look.
How to recognize it
Three identification clues
Yellow-headed male
Adult males have a bright yellow head and chest on a black body. [1]
Field tip: Note the bird’s shape and behavior first, then check its markings. Age, season, and lighting can change its appearance.
Where and when to look
Finding Yellow-headed Blackbird
Scan broad cattail or bulrush marshes and inspect feeding flocks in adjacent fields. [1] [2]
Use the range map above for seasonal context and the sightings link below to explore local records.
Listen for it
Learn the songs and calls
Compare Cornell’s recordings with what you hear outdoors. Listen for the rhythm and quality of each sound, then try to locate the bird visually.
Listen to songs and calls at Cornell ↗Compare the details
Common look-alikes
Compare shape, bill, and plumage together using Cornell’s similar-species photographs. Check age and seasonal differences before settling on an identification.
See similar species and comparison photographs ↗Look closer
Field Photographs
Photographs © Where’s Wildlife. Select any image to explore all 5 photographs.
Life history
How this bird lives
Habitat and nesting
Birds nest in loose colonies in emergent vegetation. Outside breeding season they can gather in large flocks with other blackbirds. [2]
Food and foraging
Insects in summer; seeds and grain otherwise. [2]
Watch where the bird searches for food and how it moves. Feeding behavior can be a useful clue alongside plumage.
Did you know?
A closer look at Yellow-headed Blackbird
Range & Sightings
See where people are finding this bird
Explore community observations, photographs, and locations on iNaturalist. Zoom to your area and use date filters to investigate seasonal sightings.
View iNaturalist Sightings ↗Reported sightings are not a complete range map. An area without records does not necessarily mean the species is absent.
Keep Learning
Bring the clues together
Choose a photograph above and describe three things you notice before looking at the identification cards. On your next walk, compare those clues with the bird’s habitat and behavior.
Sources & Further Reading
Numbered references support the identification details and natural-history information above. Cornell links open All About Birds, from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Previous and next birds follow common-name alphabetical order.