Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, September 8, 2026
For most, it would appear to be an attractive male Red-winged Blackbird, but if one looks more carefully, you’ll notice the epaulets on the wing of the Tri-colored Blackbird are a scarlet red, not the orange-red seen on the Redwings. Also, the band below the epaulet is a clear white rather than the yellow sported by its more common relative. At one time it was considered to be the most abundant bird in southern California, but its numbers have dropped dramatically. Still, probably 95 percent of the global population is found there. One of the primary reasons for concern is the communal nature of the species. Just like the Passenger Pigeon, this behavior makes it more vulnerable to extinction.
This gregarious nature leads them to build their nests close together, sometimes only a foot or two apart in freshwater marshes among the cattails. Rather than gathering food from the nearby wetland, the adults routinely travel up to three miles searching for rich food sources. To induce the young to leave the comfortable confines of the nesting area, adults may return from foraging with food, but instead of directly offering food to the young, they will fly away from the colony with the hungry young in hot pursuit.
The young Tricolors may have to leave their comfortable nests in order to learn needed life lessons, but the Children of Israel and we today have no such excuse. Notice how Moses explained this to his people. “And you can’t say, ‘How can we obey the Lord’s commands: They are across the sea, and someone must go across, then bring them back and explain them to us.’ No, these commands are nearby and you know them by heart. All you have to do is obey!” (Deuteronomy 30:13-14 CEV)
Certainly, lack of information is not what causes our mistakes; it’s our own stubborn nature. The really good news is that God is willing to change that nature, to give us a desire for goodness: “I will take away your stubborn heart and give you a new heart and a desire to be faithful. You will have only pure thoughts, because I will put my Spirit in you and make you eager to obey my laws and teachings.” (Ezekiel 36:26-27 CEV) Good news indeed!