29 Black Birds in Massachusetts (with Pictures)

This article is about black birds in Massachusetts. There are a lot of birds with black plumages that you can see there. Orioles and American Goldfinch have black wings, and Black-and-white Warblers are well, black and white. We are only listing mostly solid black birds in this article. So, for this article –

Black Birds are birds with predominantly black plumage; Blackbirds are members of the Icterid family, which includes Orioles, Meadowlarks, Bobolinks, Grackles, and Cowbirds. You’ll find quite a few Icterids in this article, including the most numerous blackbird in Massachusetts, the Common Grackle.

Blackbirds run from the obvious Crows and Blackbirds to Sea Ducks and birds of prey.

Here’s a listing of 29 species of blackbirds that you can see throughout Massachusetts, along with some fun facts and identification tips.

If you are in Massachusetts and around the many lakes, ponds and bays read our article on Ducks in Massachusetts so you can help identify the ducks that you see. Each description includes a picture for your reference.

For other birds in Massachusetts see our articles on Backyard Birds in Massachusetts, Owls in Massachusetts, Woodpeckers in Massachusetts, and Hawks in Massachusetts.

Black Birds in Massachusetts

1. American Crows

Scientific Name: Corvus brachyrhynchos Size: 15.8-20.9 inches

Description and Field Marks

The American Crow is not a crow at all. It is a raven, but it has been called the “American Crow” for many years. This all-black bird has shiny feathers. The bill is also black with a hook on the end. The male is slightly glossier than the female.

The American crow is smaller than the fish crow.

Nesting

The American Crow doesn’t breed until it’s between 2 and 4 years old. The “family” stays together for years, so some of the “kids” will help raise the next year’s brood.

Their nests are in large trees mostly evergreens. Both the male and female will make the nest out of large twigs lined with pine needles. The nest is big around 15 inches across and 7 to 10 inches deep.

They usually lay 3 to 9 eggs which are bluish-green in color with gray and brown blotches at either end.

The incubation period is 16 to 18 days, and the young remain in the nest anywhere from 20 to 40 days.

Diet

The American Crow will eat just about anything including seeds, nuts, small worms, and small animals such as mice. They will also steal and eat eggs from other birds like robins, sparrows, loons, jays, and eiders. They will even eat garbage from the dumps.

Habitat

The American Crow can be seen throughout the United States but differ in size by region. Eastern crows are common species in Massachusetts throughout the year and are larger than what you will see on the west coast. In Florida, the American Crow is smaller but has large feet. And the Northwestern Crow, once thought to be a different species are smaller with a deeper voice.

It is common to see them on lawns, open fields, woodlands, parking lots, and in towns as well as in cities.

Bird Notes

The American Crow is an aggressive bird that will chase many large birds like eagles and hawks. Many times you will see them in flocks of up to 1000 birds.

2. Fish Crow

Scientific Name: Corvus ossifragus Size: 14.2-15.8 inches

Description and Field Marks

The fish crow is a large black bird with a long, heavy bill. The iris of the eye is yellow and the legs are grayish-black. Medium to large-sized blackbirds, slightly smaller than American Crow,

The society states that Fish Crows can be found in “large flocks” during wintertime and are a common sight at garbage dumps.

Nesting

The fish crow nests in a tree, laying three to four eggs. it takes about two weeks for the eggs to hatch, and another three or four weeks for the chicks to develop.

Diet

Fish Crows are omnivores; they eat insects, small rodents, frogs, snakes, lizards, and berries.

Habitat

Found in coastal and near-coastal areas in Massachusetts and all across the Eastern Seaboard.

Bird Notes

The best way to tell the Fish Crow from American Crow is by sound – the Fish Crow is nasal and sounds like it has a cold. Their call is distinctive, the typical crow “Caw” but with a very nasal tone. The other identification tip is that if it perches on a wire, it’s probably a Fish Crow.

You can also refer to common backyard birds in Massachusetts (link) to find out what you can see in your yard and around town.

3. Common Raven

Description and Field Marks

Ravens are large, solid black birds with long, wedge-shaped tails and elongated narrow wings, and heavy bills. They are larger than their American and Fish Crow cousins.

The raven can appear hawk-like in flight and are an acrobatic flyer.

They have a very harsh and deep “caw” that’s more of a croak, and also clack their bills.

Common Ravens are formidable predators. You will often see them chased and harassed by other birds, including Crows.

Nesting

Common Ravens like to nest in tree trunks and on towers.

Diet

Ravens are not picky. They will eat anything they come across. From mice to birds as large as herons, to eggs and carrion, they dine on it all.

Habitat

Common Ravens are found from the mountains to the beaches and everywhere in between. They don’t mind humans and can be found in rural areas, farms, and even in some suburban locations.

An odd place to find Common Ravens are garbage dumps, and dumpsters behind stores.

Bird Notes

Ravens are highly intelligent and are adept at solving complicated puzzles. They have been guarding the Tower of London for years.

4. Red-winged Blackbird

Scientific Name: Agelaius phoeniceus Size: 6.7-9.1 inches

Description and Field Marks

The male red-winged blackbird is a large blackbird with white underparts and red wings. It has an orange-red patch on its shoulder and long pointed wings. But not all Red-winged Blackbirds have red wings. Some may have yellow or orange epaulets on their wings.

The female red-winged blackbird is striped and brown-streaked in color.

Red-winged blackbirds are usually active during the day, but they may be seen at night near lights.

Nesting

A red-winged blackbird’s nest is usually in a marsh or near water, but they have also been found on flat roofs and even in chimneys.

Their nest is made of twigs, grasses, and hair. They are lined with finer grasses, rootlets, or horsehair. The female lays 4 to 6 eggs that are a pale blue-green color. They also have black, brown, and purple speckles all over them. They are incubated by both parents for about 12 days. The young leave the nest after 14 days.

Diet

They are known to eat insects and seeds, including corn, wheat, and other grains. They also eat berries from shrubs and trees like elderberry, mulberry, wild grape, or honeysuckle.

Habitat

The red-winged blackbird is a migratory bird that travels south in the fall and returns to Massachusetts in early spring. They are very common in many of our backyards. They also like reeds along beaches and marshes, but can also be found around lakes. If you live in a coastal area, the first sighting of Red-winged Blackbirds means Spring is around the corner.

Bird Notes

You’ve heard the expression “Birds of a feather flock together”? Always check flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds for Common Grackles, European Starlings, and Brown-headed Cowbirds. These birds are often found together in large flocks.

Red-winged blackbirds can often be heard singing from a perch high in a tree or on power lines.

They have a loud, clear whistle that sounds like “fee-bee” and they also make a variety of cackling and chattering noises.

5. Rusty Blackbird

Scientific Name: Euphagus carolinus                                          Size: 9 inches

Description and Field Marks

 A black bird with rusty feathers, slightly larger and slimmer than Red-winged Blackbird, with a  longer tail and slenderer bill than Red-winged. The eye of the Rusty Blackbird is always pale yellow, which stands out.               

Nesting

Nests can be found in trees and shrubs with water nearby. They start with twigs and grasses and add a layer of rotting, wet leaves and vegetation that hardens as it dries and gives stability to the nest.

Diet

While they feed mostly on insects and other plant materials, Rusty Blackbirds have been known to attack and eat other birds.

Habitat

Look for Rusty Blackbirds in places like wet woodlands, marshes, and bogs. They wade into shallow standing water and can often be found on the edges of wet areas, turning over decomposing leaves in search of insects.

While other Blackbirds like to flock together, Rusty Blackbirds like to stay in much smaller groups.

 Bird Notes

In recent years Rusty Blackbird populations are the most rapidly declining in the United States

6. Yellow-headed Blackbird

Scientific Name: Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus                     Size: 8 to 10 inches

Description and Field Marks

Large blackbird with a stout body, large head, and long, cone-shaped bill.

Males have black bodies with brilliant yellow heads and breasts. They have a white patch on their wings, more noticeable in flight, which appears as a sliver of white along the side.

Females are dark brown, with yellow around the face and throat.  Immature males are a cross between male and female – a yellow head with brown streaking, a yellow chest, and a dull brown body.

Nesting

Yellow-headed Blackbirds build their nests in shallow marshes and wetlands, always over water. They weave grasses and strands of wet vegetation around supporting stems of cattails, reeds, and bulrushes to form a cup big enough to hold 2 to 5 eggs.

The tiny Marsh Wren is a huge predator of Yellow-headed Blackbird eggs, along with other marsh dwellers like gulls, Common Grackles and American Bitterns.

Diet

Blackbirds are mostly insect feeders during the summer months and survive on seeds for the rest of the year. They have been known to flip over stones to locate food.

Habitat

When not in the breeding season, Yellow-headed Blackbirds are found moving between grasslands, prairies, and farmland eating seeds from crops like sunflowers, corn, and small grains.

In breeding season, they move to wetlands, shallow marshes, and reedy ponds. They will displace their smaller Red-winged Blackbird cousins and Marsh Wrens from the best nesting spots in the marsh.

Bird Notes

Fossils of Yellow-headed Blackbirds have been found in California, New Mexico, and Utah, dating back 100,000 years.

7. Brewer’s Blackbird

Scientific Name: Euphagus cyanocephalus                              Size: 8 inches

Description and Field Marks

Male Brewers are medium-sized blackbirds with entirely black plumage. They have a glossy purple-blue iridescence to their heads, a metallic green sheen on their bodies, and pale eyes.

They really stand out when seen in sunlight. The glossy combination of black, dark blue, and metallic green feathers gleams brilliantly in full sun.

Females are dark gray with dark eyes and while they have some blue-green iridescence on their bodies, are nowhere near as noticeable as the males.

Both sexes have sharply pointed bills.

Nesting

Brewer’s Blackbirds usually nest in trees but may also build a nest on the ground amid taller grasses. The nest is a bulky cup made of twigs, grass, pine needles lined with soft grass, and animal hair.

Diet

Brewer’s Blackbirds feed on mostly insects and seeds. In summer, they seek out berries for a change of pace.

Brewer’s Blackbirds forage in shallow water and in fields searching for food and have been observed following farm machinery to see what has been turned up.

Habitat

Brewer’s Blackbirds are rare visitors to Massachusetts but have been recently found near Bristol and Hampshire.

Bird Notes

Brewer’s Blackbirds resemble Common Grackles. How to tell the difference? Look at heads and tails.

Common Grackles are larger birds, with long tails and thicker bills. And male Common Grackles have a blue sheen to their heads while the Brewer’s Blackbirds display a purple sheen.

8. Bobolink

Scientific Name Dolichonyx oryzivorus                    Size 7 inches

Description and Field Marks

Adult breeding Bobolink males are solid black with a cream-colored nape of the neck and extensive white markings around the shoulders, on the back, and rump. The rump patch is clearly seen in flight.

Female Bobolinks are buffy overall with brown striping on the wings, a large pink bill, and a pale nape.

You can tell females and non-breeding male Bobolinks from sparrows by the Bobolink’s pointed wings, pale nape, and habits.

Nesting

Bobolinks are ground nesters. They usually build their nests in mildly wet soil, clearing away any vegetation and making a depression in the mud. They line this first with dead grass and stems, later adding softer grasses inside.

Diet

Bobolinks are seed eaters except during breeding season when they add insects to their diet to aid their growing chick’s protein intake. They eat grains, oats, both wild and domesticated rice,     and seeds, with an occasional spider thrown in.                                                                                                                             

Habitat

 The Bobolink prefers open fallow fields, tallgrass prairies, hayfields, meadows, and reed beds.

Bird Notes

Bobolink flight calls sound very metallic and mechanical, similar to R2-D2 from Star Wars

9. Common Grackle

Scientific Name: Quiscalus quiscula Size: 11.0-15.4 inches

Description and Field Marks

The Common Grackle is part of the blackbird family and all blackbirds have iridescent feathers (usually dark blue or purple).

Grackles are often mistaken for crows, but they are much smaller in size and can be distinguished by their long tails and shiny black feathers. They have yellow eyes and their size is larger than a robin.

They are often found in large flocks during the summer months.

Nesting

They nest in colonies and build their nests in trees and bushes that are at least 3 feet off the ground. The female picks the spot of the nest and mostly builds them too but the male will help her.

They usually lay 1 to 7 eggs that can be pearl gray, light blue, or dark brown in color however they usually have brown spots. The incubation period is 11 to 15 days and the young will stay in the nest for 10 to 17 days. The common grown has 1 to 2 broods each year.

Grackles are also known as “possum hawks” because they sometimes prey on the eggs of ground-nesting birds like quail, grouse, and pheasants.

Diet

Grackles are omnivores and eat small insects, fruits, seeds, and grains. They can often be seen at backyard bird feeders where they will also dine on sunflower seeds and cracked corn.

Grackles are very intelligent birds that sometimes use their beaks to turn over rocks in search of insects. You will also find them find at farm fields where they will eat the seeds from corn and rice.

Habitat

Grackles can be found throughout the United States in parks, yards, open fields, and woodlands. They are very adaptable birds that have learned to thrive in cities where they often find food and water.

Grackles can also be heard making a wide range of calls that include whistles and rattling sounds.

10. Boat-tailed Grackle

Scientific Name: Quiscalus major                        Size: 14.5 (female) to 16.5 inches (male)

Description and Field Marks

Large blackbird with dark eyes and an elongated tail. Boat-tailed Grackles are coastal birds.

The all-black male usually has a glossy blue-black iridescence to their plumage; females are much smaller and are a rich reddish brown. They look like a completely different species but still have that extra-long tail.

Nesting

Boat-tailed Grackles nest in reeds, cattails, and tall grasses around marshes, building their nests high enough from rising waters and predators.

Diet

Boat-tailed Grackles are not picky eaters. They dine on crustaceans, mollusks, arthropods, and reptiles, and are not above scavenging food from humans, their pets, and other birds.

Habitat

Boat-tailed Grackles show up along the Massachusetts coast in Spring and disappear by late Summer. They are found all along the Atlantic Coast and never venture far from salt water (except in Florida, where they are everywhere).

Bird Notes

Boat-tailed Grackles will often dunk their food (like pet food and rice) in water to soften it before eating.

11. Brown-headed Cowbird

Scientific Name: Molothrus ater                 Size: 7.5 inches

Description and Field Marks

Chunky, dark-eyed blackbird with short tails and thick bills.  Adult males are glossy black with iridescent brown heads.  Females are brown with light streaks on the belly.

Nesting

Brown-headed Cowbirds nest in trees, but there is no nest-building involved. Female Brown-headed Cowbirds are parasites – they lay their eggs in the nests of other birds. In many cases,    larger Cowbird nestlings will push the other species’ eggs or chicks out of the nest. Parasite hosts raise the Cowbird chick as their own.

Diet

Seeds, grasses, and insects make up most of the Brown-headed Cowbird’s diet. Females add snails and eggs from nests they parasitize; they need the extra calcium because they lay so many of their own eggs in other birds’ nests.

Brown-headed Cowbirds will come to feeders, usually with Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles, and European Starlings that sometimes overwhelm household feeders.

 Habitat

Brown- Cowbirds can be found pretty much everywhere but in heavy forests. They got their name by foraging among herds of grazing buffalo and cattle.

In Winter, Brown-headed Cowbirds can be found among the large flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles, and European Starlings.

 Bird Notes

The much smaller Yellow Warbler’s nests are targets for Brown-headed Cowbirds, but the Yellow Warbler has figured out a way to deal with this. Since they are too small to just push the Cowbird egg out of the nest, they build another nest on top of the Cowbird egg, smothering it and allowing their own eggs to hatch without intruders.

12. Dark-eyed Junco

Scientific Name: Junco hyemalis Size: 5.5-6.3 inches

Description and Field Marks

The dark-eyed juncos are little birds that are slated gray in color. They are known as medium size sparrows with a long tail, round face, and white on its belly. They also have bright white markings on its tail.

Dark-eyed junco has a population of over 600 million making it one of the most common birds in the United States and Canada.

Nesting

The Dark-eyed Juncos lay three to six eggs. They are cream-colored with brown spots. The eggs are usually laid in a tree hole or on the ground.

Diet

The Dark-eyed Junco eats seeds, berries, and insects. They can be found in bushes and trees. Juncos LOVE bird feeders! They will eat whatever you put out black oil sunflower seeds, suet, peanut butter, or generic wild bird food.  They are not picky.

Habitat

When Juncos appear, Winter is near. You can see them in Canada and the western mountains during the spring and summer months. These birds flew south to North America for the winter months.

Look for them on deciduous forest floors and on the grass in your backyard. They can be found in bushes and trees all over Massachusetts during the winter months.

This is another bird that can travel in mixed flocks, so you never know who else will turn up at your feeder alongside the Juncos.

13. European Starling

Scientific Name: Sturnus vulgaris Size: 7.9-9.1 inches

Description and Field Marks

The European Starling is the size of a Robin and from a distance looks all black. However, they have a purplish-green iridescent color to them when you see them up close. Their yellow bill stands out and they have a short tail.

You often see them in large flocks with blackbirds and grackles.

Nesting

Starlings will take other birds’ nests and use them as long as they are high off the ground, usually in trees, on streetlights, buildings, or nest boxes. The male will find these nests and will add twigs, pine needles, grasses, and feathers. Females will add greens to the nest before laying 3 to 6 eggs.

Both the male and female will incubate the eggs for a period of around 12 days. The egg color is bluish to greenish white. The young will stay in the nest for about 3 weeks.

Diet

European Starlings eat mostly insects but will also eat fruits. In addition, they will eat seeds, nectar, garbage, and livestock feed. They will also eat from your tray feeders.

Habitat

These birds live where humans are, in towns and cities, roosting in trees and on buildings, also you will see them on wires. They like open fields and lawns and are not far from a water source.

Bird Notes

A fun fact about the European Starling is that all North American birds descended from 100 birds that in 1890 were intentionally released into Central Park in New York City. Today they have a population in the North America of over 2 million.

14. Pileated Woodpecker

Scientific Name: Dryocopus pileatus                                       Size: 16.5 inches

Description and Field Marks

Large woodpecker almost the size of a crow, all black body with white stripes down a long neck and a bright red crest on top of the head. White under-wing and white wing patches are easily seen in flight.

Pileated Woodpeckers fly in fairly straight lines, unlike other woodpecker species, who fly in undulating lines.

These are noisy, loud woodpeckers. Their drum is slow and powerful, accelerates, and then trails off, not more than two times a minute.

Nesting

Pileated Woodpeckers drill out cavities in trees.

Diet                                                                          

They really like Carpenter Ants, so they’re often found foraging at the bottoms of dead trees or on fallen logs.

Habitat

Likes mature hardwood forests and open woodlands. Pileated Woodpeckers look for dead trees and logs, which offer food and a nest cavity.

Bird Notes

Pileated Woodpecker holes are rectangular rather than round or oval like other woodpeckers, and they are deep enough to break smaller trees in half.

15. Glossy Ibis

Scientific Name: Plegadis falcinellus                      Size: 23 Inches with 36 inch wingspan

Description and Field Marks

The more common Ibis in the Northeastern United States, the Glossy Ibis is an overall black wading bird with a distinctive down-curving bill and iridescent plumage.

Adult non-breeding birds are black with darker heads, necks, and back. Breeding birds are a blend of black, and other colors. While Glossy Ibis appears totally black from a distance, a close look in good light will show maroon, bronze, and even emerald and violet along with the shiny black feathers. 

Nesting

Glossy Ibis nests in colonies like other herons in low trees. They build bulky nests from reeds, sticks, and small branches.

Diet

Glossy Ibis forage among muddy pools and marshes in search of aquatic prey. They stir up the marsh pools, often attracting other waders like Snowy Egrets, who eat the small fish disturbed by the Ibises.

They forage by both sight and touch, usually on the falling tide, eating everything from insects, mollusks, crabs, crayfish, snails, fish, and amphibians to snakes.

Habitat

Glossy Ibis are found in freshwater, brackish, and saltwater marshes. They are often found in small groups mixed in with other herons and waders.

Bird Notes

In flight, Glossy Ibis has a rather prehistoric silhouette, with their long necks and legs outstretched, and their distinctive long, down-curving bill leading the way.

16. Black Scoter

Scientific Name: Melanitta nigra Size: 19 inches

Description

The Black Scoter is the smallest and most compact of the Scoter family.

They are dark sea ducks with short bills, usually found floating in rafts on the open salt water.

Males have yellow-orange bills and are all black; females are dark with whitish patches on the face and cheeks.

Black Scoters dive for clams and other crustaceans.

Bird Notes

Scoters are very vocal, making a whistling sound that carries over the water.

17. White-winged Scoter

Scientific Name:  Melanitta fusca Size; 21 inches

Description

The largest Scoter, they are usually found in large rafts floating along with other members of the Scoter family. White-winged Scoter has a long bill and a somewhat concave head

Males are black on top over a dark brown body, with a distinctive white “comma” below their eyes. The bills are orange and slightly puffed close to the head.

Female White-winged Scoter is dark brownish-black. Like the other female Scoters, they have two white patches on the face, one behind the eye and the other on the face between the eyes.

The white speculum on both sexes is an easy identification mark, not only when they are on the wing, but also when diving or sitting in the water.

Bird Notes

White-winged Scoter is usually found in mixed rafts along with Black Scoter. The male White-winged Scoter’s eye comma stands out, so if you count all the black ducks with white eye markings, the rest of the Scoters in the group must be Black Scoters. (This tip is courtesy of a waterfowl census-taker).

18. Surf Scoter

Description

The largest Scoter, they are usually found in large rafts floating along with other members of the Scoter family. White-winged Scoter has a long bill and a somewhat concave head

Males are black on top over a dark brown body, with a distinctive white “comma” below their eyes. The bills are orange and slightly puffed close to the head.

Female White-winged Scoter is dark brownish-black. Like the other female Scoters, they have two white patches on the face, one behind the eye and the other on the face between the eyes.

The white speculum on both sexes is an easy identification mark, not only when they are on the wing, but also when diving or sitting in the water.

Bird Notes

White-winged Scoter is usually found in mixed rafts along with Black Scoter. The male White-winged Scoter’s eye comma stands out, so if you count all the black ducks with white eye markings, the rest of the Scoters in the group must be Black Scoters. (This tip is courtesy of a waterfowl census-taker).

 19. Turkey Vulture

Scientific Name: Cathartes aura                    Size: 26 inches

Description and Field Marks

Large black bird with red, naked heads. Flight is distinctive: wings are raised in the dihedral (U-shaped) and they rock their bodies from side to side. The underside of the wings shows white all around, with a solid black body in the center; wingtips (fingers) are spread out in flight.

Turkey Vultures are often found in big kettles, with an occasional Black Vulture or two in the mix.

Nesting

Turkey Vultures nest on the ground in crevices or in hollow logs. They may also utilize abandoned heron and hawk nests.

Diet

The Turkey Vulture’s sole source of sustenance is carrion. Turkey Vultures cruise overhead on thermals, rising early to search for dead things.

Habitat

Turkey Vultures roost high in trees or on structures. They can be found almost anywhere in the state of Massachusetts. Look for large pines or dead trees along the water, where they can be found at dusk hanging out.

Turkey Vultures like company, so a roost can sometimes contain 30-40 birds.

Bird Notes

A flight of vultures is called a kettle.  Turkey Vultures can smell their food while circling high above the ground.

20. Black Vulture

Scientific Name: Coragyps atratus                               Size: 25 inches

Description and Field Marks

All black bird with a dark, naked head. Flight differs from Turkey Vulture, flying higher and straighter and not in the dihedral. It does not rock side to side like the Turkey Vulture. The underside of the wings shows white at the wrist (tips of wings), with the fingers outspread. The tail is also shorter than Turkey Vulture.

Nesting

Black Vultures nest in crevices, hollow logs, and caves, laying their eggs directly on the ground.

Diet

Black Vultures are carrion eaters. They only eat dead things. They ride the thermals, going up a   bit later in the day than Turkey Vulture and flying higher up, in search of the dead and dying.

 Habitat

Black Vultures are not as common in Massachusetts as Turkey Vultures and are often found mixed in with Turkey Vultures. They roost in trees on in tall poles, usually close to water or any structure that generates thermals.

 Bird Notes

Black vultures’ sense of smell is not as keen as their Turkey Vulture cousins, so they soar above the Turkey Vultures and watch them so that when the Turkey Vultures find food, the Black Vultures follow them to the carcass. Black Vultures are opportunists and may also be found scrounging around the local dump.

21. Double-Crested Cormorant

Scientific Name: Phalacrocorax auratus                    Size: 33 inches

Description and Field Marks

Large black bird with black legs, webbed black feet, and an orange chin patch. Juvenile birds usually have pale necks and breasts.

The “double crest” can only be seen on the backs of their heads during the breeding season.

Nesting

Double-crested Cormorants roost in tall trees, on posts and rocks. They build large and bulky nests out of sticks and other materials, including bits of rope and other garbage.

Diet

Double-crested Cormorants are fish eaters. They dive constantly in search of fish, only stopping to dry off their feathers.

Habitat

Double-crested Cormorants can be found on or near water, either on larger freshwater bodies or on salt water.

They are often found sitting in trees, posts, and on rocks with their wings outstretched.

Cormorant feathers lack the waterproofing of other diving birds and actually become waterlogged. This is why they sit lower in the water. They have to come out of the water to dry off in order to get back into the water again.

Bird Notes

If you see a flock of large dark birds flying in V-formation, if they stay in the V then they are geese or ducks. For some strange reason, Cormorants can’t seem to hold a V-formation for very long. They are just not cut out for precision flight.

22. Great Cormorant

Scientific Name: Phalacrocorax carbo                       Size: 36 inches

Description and Field Marks

Adult birds are all black with white throats and a yellowish chin patch. Breeding Great Cormorants show a white hip patch, a good field mark for a bird in flight. Note their black legs and large black webbed feet.

Immature birds have brown heads and necks with white bellies.

How to tell a Great Cormorant from a Double-crested Cormorant.

Great Cormorants are the largest of the Cormorants.  They are heavier-bodied that the smaller    Double-crested. Juvenile Great Cormorants have white bellies, as opposed to the dark bellies of the Double-crested Cormorants, and also have shorter tails than the Double-crested.

Adult Greats have a white hip patch in the breeding season, which is lacking in the Double-crested.

In addition, Great Cormorants have white throats with yellow chin patches, whereas Double-crested Cormorants have orange throats and don’t have white necks.

Nesting

Great Cormorants nest on rocky islands and cliffs along the Massachusetts coast. The nests are constructed out of marines and sticks brought to the female by the male. The nests can be as wide as 18 or more inches and around 8 inches high.

 Diet

Great Cormorants are fish eaters, diving up to 100 feet down to catch fish in their hooked bills.

Habitat

Great Cormorants like rocky coastlines and are often found perched on jetty light towers, breakwaters, large boulders, and rocky coastal islands. They are strictly sea birds and are usually not found in freshwater.

Bird Notes

All of the Cormorant family tend to face into the wind, with the sun at their backs, when they are drying out their feathers. This enables their outstretched wings and body feathers to dry faster so they can get back to diving for food.

23. Common Murre

Scientific Name: Uria aalge                             Size:  17.5 inches

Description and Field Marks

Common Murres are Alcids, birds that spend the majority of their time on open ocean waters rather than land. Like most alcids, their feet are further back than land-dwelling birds, making them awkward walkers. In the water, however, they are graceful swimmers, flying through the waters on strong, streamlined wings.

 Common Murres look like they are wearing tuxedos. Like most alcids, they are solid black on top and white underneath.

 If you’re thinking penguins, you’ve got a good idea of what the Common Murre looks like in breeding plumage.

 Non-breeding adults and immatures have black caps with white cheeks and necks.

 While their legs are a hindrance on land, in water they act like a ship’s rudder, steering and propelling them along the ocean surface with grace and speed.

Most alcids, being heavy-bodied birds, need a little help on takeoff. They can be seen

Nesting

Common Murres nest in groups on rocky cliffs and headlands near the ocean. They don’t actually build a nest, laying a single egg on the cliff itself: on a ledge, in a crevice, or underneath a large boulder. Common Murres may build pebble circles around their “nests”.    

 Diet

Common Murres eat fish, also taking squid and octopus when they can. They are excellent divers, “flying” through the water propelled by their wings. Common Murres may hunt in small flocks, normally diving about 100 feet to catch their prey, sometimes much deeper.

 Habitat

Common Murres are members of the Alcid family and are ocean foragers. They tend to prefer areas where warm and cold ocean currents meet to hunt for food.

They also tend to swim and fly in straight lines. Like most alcids, being heavy-bodied birds, they need a little help on takeoff. They can be seen churning up the waters and “running” across the swells in order to get airborne.

 Bird Notes

The eggs are unusual as they are very narrow (almost pointed) at one end and broad and round at the other. The eggs roll around in a circular pattern, ensuring that they won’t roll out of the “nest” and off the cliff.

Scientific Name: Uria lomvia                          Size: 18 inches

Description and Field Marks

Thick-billed Murres are members of the Alcid family. They spend the majority of their time on open ocean waters rather than on land. Like most alcids, their feet are further back than land-dwelling birds, making them awkward walkers, but not as awkward as the other alcid species.

On the ocean, however, they are graceful swimmers, flying through the waters on strong, streamlined wings.

Thick-billed Murres also have that tuxedo penguin look. They are solid black on top and white underneath. There’s also a slight white gap (space where the bill opens) that can sometimes be seen.

Non-breeding adults and immatures have black caps with white throats. Compared to Common Murre, their bills are much thicker.

While their legs are a hindrance on land, in water they act like a ship’s rudder, steering and propelling them along the ocean surface with grace and speed.

Nesting

Thick-billed Murres breed in the high Arctic and pair for life. They built their nests on rocky cliffs and headlands near the ocean. Nests are made from piles of rocks and debris stuck together with guano (bird poop). This keeps the egg from falling out of the nest and rolling off the cliff. Thick-billed Murres pack themselves tightly into their nesting sites, with just a bare minimum of space between them.

Diet

Thick-billed Murres are fish eaters, taking fish, squid, crustaceans, and annelids. They are excellent divers, “flying” through the water propelled by their strong wings. Common Murres may hunt in small flocks, normally diving about 100 feet to catch their prey. They have been observed diving 600 + feet in search of food.

Habitat

Thick-billed Murres are members of the Alcid family and are ocean foragers. They stay out at sea except when breeding, preferring waters over 100 feet deep or along the continental shelf, further out than Common Murres are usually found.  

They also tend to swim and fly in straight lines. Like most alcids, being heavy-bodied birds, they need a little help on takeoff. They can be seen churning up the waters and “running” across the swells in order to get airborne.

Bird Notes

The young of the Thick-billed Murre is fearless. They plunge off their nest cliffs to the sea below even before they learn how to fly, with one of their parents guiding them along the way and bringing them food until they can forage for themselves.

25. Razorbill

Scientific Name: Alca torda                             Size: 17-26 inches

Description and Field Marks

Razorbills are stocky alcids with a prominent black bill.

Both males and females are black above and white below (yes, the tuxedo thing again). In breeding plumage, there are thin white stripes around the face and bill, and the throats and faces are solid blacks.

Non-breeding plumage loses the bill line, and the lower jaw and throat fade to white.

The underwing is white and noticeable in flight.

Nesting

Razorbills don’t breed until they are around 4-5 years old. Their nests are built in cliff crevices, on ledges, or underneath large rocks, on islands, on mainland cliffs, or on rocky coastlines. If good nesting spots are not available, they will make one out of small rocks and grass. There is usually only one egg in the nest.

Razorbill chicks leave their nests without a full set of flight feathers. They follow their parents to the edge of the cliff and jump off, using the feathers to slow their descent, they flutter down to the sea where a parent is waiting to swim away with them in tow.

Diet

Razorbills love to fish, with the occasional crustacean and marine worm for variety. Favorite fish includes herring, sand lance, and cod. They forage for their food while swimming underwater, usually up to 20 feet down but may dive to 30 feet below.

Habitat

Razorbills are found on the open ocean, except when nesting, where they prefer sea cliffs. They are often seen on offshore shoals and ledges.

While they are mostly found in Iceland, and in the Gulf of Maine, Razorbills are visible from shore in winter along the Atlantic Coast, usually mixed in with Common and Thick-billed Murres and the Scoter species. In Massachusetts, look for them from the beaches, breakwaters, and jetties all along the coast.

Bird Notes

Whenever winter sends cold currents southward, Razorbills will follow. They have been seen as far south as Florida.

The French name for the Razorbill is “Petit Pingouin” (Little Penguin).

26. Dovekie

Scientific Name: Alle alle                                Size: 8.25 inches

Description and Field Marks

Another black and white alcid, but a small, chunky one. Adult breeding birds are solid black with a white underbelly, white stripes on their shoulders, and a white stripe across their rump. The bill is very short and stubby, giving them a squashed-in face.

Non-breeding adults have a white patch on their rumps and a black collar against a white throat and neck.

Dovekies have long wings with a dark underwing and dark eyes. They are very fast flyers, and their size makes them look like a black and white ball zooming across the ocean.

Nesting

Dovekies nest up to three feet inside crevices on rocky cliffs and islands. The nests consist of a ring of pebbles sometimes lined with grass or lichens.

Diet

Dovekies eat plankton, marine invertebrates, and small fish.

Habitat

Living in the High Arctic presents certain challenges. Dovekies prefer rocky coastal islands and cliffs, and also along the edges of sea ice, utilizing the nooks and crevices as protection from fierce winds and predators.

Bird Notes

Dovekies are rare visitors from the High Arctic, only coming down in winter. On occasion, they will get blown close to shore by storms and prevailing winds.

27. Black Guillemot

Scientific Name: Cepphus grylle                                  Size: 13 inches

Description and Field Marks

A duck-sized, round-bodied alcid is often found in pairs or small groups along cold, rocky shorelines. An occasional visitor to Massachusetts, Black Guillemots have not been found further south than Cape Cod (as of 2021).

Adult breeding birds are solid black with a predominant white wing patch. Non-breeding birds and mostly white with dark backs and rumps (the white wing patch still stands out).

No matter what plumage they are in, all birds have black bills, white underwings, and red legs and feet.

Nesting

Black Guillemot nest on rocky coasts, usually in cliff crevices above the high tide mark. They may also utilize tree roots and old puffin burrows.

Diet

While small fish captured and eaten underwater are the mainstays of the Black Guillemot diet, they also prey on a wide variety of marine life, including jellyfish, sponges, worms, squid, mollusks, and small crustaceans.

Habitat

Black Guillemots are found along rocky coasts close to shore. They like to forage in cold waters, diving for food on shallow sea floors.

While the Maine coast is the best place to find Black Guillemots, in Massachusetts, they are not seen further south than Cape Cod (to date).

Bird Notes

It is believed that the Black Guillemot got its name from the French for “William” (Guillaume).

28. Atlantic Puffin

Scientific Name: Fratercula arctica                              Size: 12.5 inches

Description and Field Marks

A round-headed alcid with a distinguishable, multi-colored triangular bill with an orange tip.

Atlantic Puffins are black birds with light cheeks, white chests and bellies, and bright orange feet. In breeding season, the Puffin’s cheeks are white; in non-breeding plumage, the cheeks turn darker, but there is no mistaking that bill.

 While most alcids fly low to the water and fast, American Puffins fly higher than other alcids.

 Nesting

Atlantic Puffins nest in colonies on small islands having sparse, short vegetation, where they dig shallow burrows or holes in the ground lined with twigs and grasses. They produce a single egg and will reuse the same burrow for as long as they can.

American Puffin chicks are called “Pufflings”.

Puffins forage for small fish up to around six inches long. They usually bring up more than one fish on each dive, holding them crosswise in their bills. Spines on the American Puffin’s tongue and on the roof of their mouth enable them to secure their prey without losing anything.

Habitat

American Puffins spend most of their lives at sea except for breeding season when they stay on rocky offshore islands where they can dig their burrows and lay their eggs.      

Bird Notes

Atlantic Puffins are rarely seen from the shore but have been seen along the shores of both Cape Ann and Cape Cod after nor’easters.

If you’re near a rocky shore and hear something that sounds like a chain saw, it’s an American Puffin.

29. Common Loon

Scientific Name: Gavia immer                                Size: 32 inches with a 46-inch wingspan

Description and Field Marks

Large water bird with a heavy, thick bill, distinctive breeding plumage, and eerie, yodeling call.

Common Loons have long, heavy bodies and are usually found on lakes all across Massachusetts. They are striking birds, with their all-black heads, red eyes, black neck ring on the black-and-white striped neck, and a stunning checkerboard patterned back, this is a breathtakingly beautiful bird!

In winter, their plumage changes to blackish gray and white and they go from inland to large lakes and coastal waters.

In flight, Common Loons look like they are trailing two large wooden spoons behind them – those are their feet, which stick out behind. They also need a runway to take off, just like a jumbo jet.

Nesting

Loons only come on land to mate and lay eggs. The nests are built in quiet areas, often on small islands in larger lakes. Common Loons have difficulty maneuvering on land because their legs are more suited to underwater propulsion than walking, being so far back on their bodies, that they construct their nests close to the shore or riverbank.

Common Loons will also utilize manmade nesting platforms if provided.

Diet

In summer on freshwater, the Common Loon’s fishes of choice are sunfish and perch. In winter, on the ocean, it’s a seafood buffet. Loons are consummate water birds and are amazing swimmers, moving like a submarine underwater but way more maneuverable. They can turn on a dime, using their powerful legs to propel them underwater in pursuit of prey.

Habitat

Clear lakes, rivers, and streams are the Common Loon’s main habitat, with saltwater shorelines, large lakes, and reservoirs their locations of choice in winter.

As long as there’s good cover against predators and space for their 747-like takeoff flights, Loons will nest on ponds, lakes, and everyplace else all across Massachusetts.

Bird Notes

Common Loons are one of the birds that show symptoms of lead poisoning. Old fishing tackle is the cause, and the reason for many bans on the use of lead in some sporting equipment, mostly fishing tackle and birdshot.  

Where to see these black birds in Massachusetts

In late Spring and all through Summer, you can find these birds in so many places that there are way too many to list here. Good resources are organizations like Massachusetts Audubon, whose website contains links to places all over the state. You can also find most of these birds at the National Wildlife Refuges throughout the state.

Another good source is eBird. They have maps and tons of information on when and where the birds are being seen.

In Fall and especially Winter, look at saltwater shorelines. There is nothing like the beach in winter for tranquility and great winter birds!

Places like Cape Ann and Cape Cod are perfect locations to search for sea ducks and alcids. 

While a spotting scope is an awesome tool for doing sea watches, a decent pair of binoculars will help you locate these awesome birds, especially those species that like being close to shore.

I’m sure I missed a black bird or two, but this is a good start to finding and seeing the blackbirds in Massachusetts.