Red-winged Blackbird [female]
One of the most abundant birds across North America, and one of the most boldly colored, the Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) is a familiar sight atop cattails, along soggy roadsides, and on telephone wires. Glossy-black males have scarlet-and-yellow shoulder patches they can puff up or hide depending on how confident they feel. Females are a subdued, streaky brown, almost like a large, dark sparrow. In the North, their early arrival and tumbling song are happy indications of the return of spring.
This information, and more, can be found at The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (June 5, 2007)