During the breeding season, you may be able to observe five blackbird species.

One though, the rusty blackbird, is rather uncommon.

Maybe a bit surprising to you, our most common “black bird,” the European starling, is not a blackbird species.

Common grackles, red-winged blackbirds, and brown-headed cowbirds should have already returned to our area by the time you read this column.

Occasionally, a few “redwings” and cowbirds may choose to remain at your feeders through the winter, but nearly all migrate a few hundred miles to our south to wait out winter.

The common grackle is rather large and streamlined. They have a long tail. It has a bright light-colored iris, making its appearance a bit eerie.

Most, especially the males, have a purplish color on their head and neck. They were once called purple grackles.

I have found that most nest high in spruce or fir trees and that you probably heard their screechy calls. This chatter ebbs after the young leave the nests in early summer.

Then, toward late summer/early fall they congregate together in very large flocks, often with other blackbirds, preparing for their short migration.

Red-winged blackbirds are common especially in more aquatic habitats, pastures, or road side drainage areas. They reach about 9 inches in size compared to the grackles’ 12.5 inch body and tail. The males display their bright red shoulder patches edged with yellow as they fly back and forth defending their territories.

If you have a few minutes on a spring morning, drive to nearby marshy meadow and observe their behavior and enjoy their blackbird singing.

They are one of the harbingers of spring that get you ready for the warmer weather. Soon after the young leave the nest, the redwings leave to join the blackbird flocks also preparing for the short “trip” south. In a previous column I discussed the cowbird and its brood parasitism of many other bird species. It is a type of blackbird but not as social as the other blackbird species.

You may see a small flock feeding among horses or cattle or more likely to see three or four males strutting by a female in spring to try to “show her” who is the best looking. The males have a brown head (reason for name) but are basically black.

The females and immatures are a dull brown color. You may see all three of these species frequenting your feeders this spring, especially on “onion snow” days when grub would be a bit more difficult to find.

The other resident blackbird species in this area is the bobolink. I can still find them on farms in East Penn, Towamensing, Mahoning, and Franklin townships. They are late arriving birds; referring to their 12,000-mile annual trip to and from Argentina and the U.S.

I have never recorded one in April. Usually the first arrivals are about May 5 to 10. They don’t remain here long either. Since they have so far to travel, they only spend about three months here to breed. Bobolinks are no longer common. Their biggest threat is more modern farming practices.

Hay fields are now harvested more times each year and the mowing destroys their nests hidden among the weeds.

With a pair of binoculars, look for the males as they fly low over their territories displaying their buffy/yellowish nape, white back, and shiny black body.

Those binoculars will let you appreciate that they are indeed beautiful blackbirds.

Test your knowledge: About how many species of ducks could you encounter in the Times News area? A. 25, B. 15, C. 10, D. 4.

Last week’s trivia answer: Gray squirrels, red squirrels, flying squirrels, fox squirrels are all Pennsylvania squirrel species. The Black squirrel is really a color “morph” of the gray squirrel and not a different species. Color “morphs” occur in screech owls as well.

Contact Barry Reed at breed71@gmail.com.