I Heart Birds

The red-winged blackbirds have really been putting on a show, now that it's spring. Every time I visit the marsh, I spend a few minutes enjoying their antics. The bird's name comes from the red patch of color (an epaulet) that appears on each wing. This is one of the males; the females are brown and do not bear the famous marking.

The males like to show off, and they present quite a spectacle. I watched as this bird first sat on a cat-o-nine tail and sang its heart out. Then it moved up to sit on a nearby electric line, where it had an even better view of its kingdom. With each cry, it puffed itself up and spread out its wings, making itself look even bigger (to any other male competitors) and more impressively beautiful (for the lovely ladies).

The patch of color on the wings has elements of both yellow and red. The reason I chose this particular photo was that in this shot, the epaulet appears to be in the shape of a heart. (Oh, the ladies should love that!) :-)

I wanted the song to accompany this photo to be something by the female rock band Heart. They have so many good ones that it's hard to choose. But I think, contradictorily enough, that the song I want for this picture is Heart, with Heartless.

P.S. If you liked this red-winged blackbird, you might also enjoy this shot from last week.

P.P.S. I like to find hearts on birds and butterflies. See another bird heart here. And a butterfly wearing hearts here.