Again, american blackbirds – the icterids – have nothing to do with those four and twenty guys baked in pies.  These ones are more slim and graceful in appearance, more pointy in the beak.  Brewer’s blackbirds are about the same size as red-winged blackbirds, but more drab, and far more likely to be seen prowling the concrete meadows called parking lots.

If I had to guess based on appearance, I’d think they were a more “basal” member of the line that led to grackles – much smaller and less showy, but with the same iridescent oily black feathers and beady yellow eyes.  In the delicate little brewer’s, it looks so jaunty and cute.  Black cat vibes.  Meanwhile, the females are a drab ashy brown with a slight iridescent sheen and blood red eyeballs.  Very cute in a different way.  I like this species a lot.

Chip!  Like a lot of birds, they have a sharp one-note call they use for some purpose or another.  And conveniently, it sounds like they’re talking about potato-based snack foods, which is something I’m sure they’d enjoy.  I don’t know what the wisdom is, on whether or not you should give them a french fry, but it’d be tempting.

The first place I took special notice of them was in the parking lot of the Fred Meyer grocery store in Puyallup, pronounced pyoo-all-ip to you non-Warshingtonians and probably pronounced 1000% different by actual natives.  I also saw them in the parking lot by the Happy Teriyaki up there, which is just around the corner from the Fred Meyer, so … same diff.  More recently the most common place for me to see them is in the Malwart parking lot, over by the Mall-Formerly-Known-as-the-Supermall.

Another time I saw them in a more rustic environment – the pumpkin patch / corn maze arranged by Carpinito Bros in the fall.  There were also red-winged blackbirds, starlings, and crows, and I didn’t get a clear idea of how well the species get along or not.

The most urban setting where I’ve ever seen them was at a pet store in North Seattle, in the scummy and desolate wasteland known as Aurora Avenue.  Shiny, perfect little birdies.  Thanks for being there.

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