Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Brewer's Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus)

Abundance: Very Uncommon late fall, winter, and early spring; recorded in 10 Regional counties, 3 in Kentucky and 7 in Tennessee (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts are too few to determine a trend in the population wintering in or migrating through the Region (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Winter Resident, probably, but Transient status possibly more accurate, at least in most years; photograph [lateral view of male] (5 April 2010; Barren County, Kentucky; David L. Roemer); photograph [lateral view of female] (5 April 2010; Barren County, Kentucky; David L. Roemer).

Regional High Count: 40 (25 February 2007; Jernigan Rd., White County, Tennessee; Douglas A. Downs); Next Largest High Count: 35 (4 February 2004; Lizard Lane, White County, Tennessee; Stephen J. Stedman); Next Largest High Count: 30+ (7 February 2005; Lizard Lane, White County, Tennessee; Douglas A. Downs); Next Largest High Count: 20 (18 February 2002; Old Mill Rd., Putnam County, Tennessee; Stephen J. Stedman); CBC High Count: 19 (December 1992; Ditty Rd. during Cookeville CBC, Putnam County, Tennessee; Daniel L. Combs).

Regional Extreme Dates:

    Early Fall: 18 October 2003 (Scott County, Tennessee; Stephen J. Stedman, Nell Moore).

    Late Spring: 5 April 2010 (Barren County, Kentucky; David L. Roemer, David Brown).

    Note: Regional dates of earliest reported fall arrival and latest reported spring departure for winters from 2001–2002 to 2010–2011 follow:

Habitat: Seldom recorded away from cattle feedlots but may be present in mixed flocks of blackbirds foraging in agricultural fields.

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: no data.

Remarks: Overwintering not well documented. During the winters of 2004–2005 and 2006–2007, fairly regular sightings in White County, Tennessee, throughout those winters indicated possible overwintering there, but whether those circumstances were isolated cases or typical phenomena is hard to know.  To err on the side of caution, it is probably best to consider that most individuals reported in the Region represent migrants moving south during late fall and early winter (i.e., mid-November to late December) or moving north during late winter and early spring (i.e., late February to mid-March), when most Regional observations take place.

    Adult males when not accompanied by the usually dark-eyed females are not safely distinguishable from adult males of Rusty Blackbird except by those with considerable field experience (i.e., 20 or more years) with these look-alike winter icterids. This word of caution is especially applicable to adult males during late winter and early spring (i.e., February and March).

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited