I saw a Red-winged Blackbird near the fourth ave bridge recently, first I noticed a bold flash of red, then I noticed that the bird otherwise was black.....and yes, I figured it out. Red-winged Blackbird. The bird sang loudly then flew off and gave me a chance to see it in flight.

The red shoulders tell us that the bird was male and I'm learning more about the bird through the Cornell Lab of Ornithology site. Now that I've read that the male Red-winged Blackbird is quite fierce about territory I am glad that it did not see me as a threat.

• The male Red-winged Blackbird fiercely defends his territory during the breeding season. He may spend more than a quarter of all the daylight hours in territory defense. He vigorously keeps all other males out of the territory and defends the nests from predators. He will attack much larger animals, including horses and people.