Spotting New York Blackbirds and Black Birds: A Comprehensive Guide
You can find Blackbirds (and birds with black feathers) all across New York.
Searching for “blackbirds” or “black birds” gets you the same results, but to set the record straight…
Blackbirds (one word) are members of the Icterid family, which includes Orioles, Meadowlarks, Bobolinks, Grackles, and Cowbirds. Black birds (two words) are birds with predominantly black plumage.
You will notice that many icterids have black plumage, adding to the confusion.
This is a list of 10 blackbirds (Icterids) and 20 black birds that you can see throughout New York, along with some fun facts and identification tips.
For other fun birdwatching in New York see our articles on Owls, Backyard Birds, Hummingbirds, Hawks, Ducks, and Woodpeckers.
Blackbirds in New York
1. Red-winged Blackbird
Scientific Name: Agelaius phoeniceus Size: 6.7 to 9.1 inches
Male Red-winged Blackbirds are large black Icterids. They have orange-red patches on their shoulders 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. She resembles a giant streaked sparrow with a more finch-like, thick bill.
The red-winged blackbird is a migratory bird in New York, with a small population that stays year-round. The marshes and wetlands throughout the Empire State are hotspots for winter birding and are loaded with Red-winged Blackbirds starting in early spring. Barrier beaches and urban areas are other good locations for these birds. You won’t have to travel far to find them.
Interesting Facts
You’ve heard the expression “Birds of a feather flock together”? Always check flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds for Common Grackles, European Starlings, Brown-headed Cowbirds, and other rarities. These birds are often found together in large flocks.
call and song
2. Rusty Blackbird
Scientific Name: Euphagus carolinus Size: 9 inches
A black bird with rusty feathers, slightly larger and slimmer than a 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.
Look for Rusty Blackbirds in wet woodlands, marshes, and bogs. They wade into shallow standing water and can often be found on the edges of those 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.
Interesting Facts
Rusty Blackbird populations are the most rapidly declining in the United States. They are a vulnerable species due to habitat loss.
call and song
3. Common Grackle
Scientific Name: Quiscalus quiscula Size: 11 to 15.4 inches
The Common Grackle is part of the blackbird family and, as a blackbird species, has iridescent feathers (usually dark blue or purple).
Grackles are often mistaken for crows, but are much smaller and can be distinguished by their long tails and glossy 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.
These are intelligent birds, often using their beaks to turn over rocks in search of insects. Grackles can be found throughout the United States in parks, yards, open fields, and wooded areas. They are very adaptable birds that have learned to thrive in cities where they often find food and water.
They make a wide range of calls that include whistles and rattling sounds.
Interesting Facts
Grackles are also known as “possum hawks” because they sometimes prey on the eggs of ground-nesting birds like quail, grouse, and pheasants
call and song
4. Boat-tailed Grackle
Scientific Name: Quiscalus major Size: 14.5 (female) to 16.5 inches (male)
A large blackbird with dark eyes and an elongated tail, Boat-tailed Grackles are coastal birds, commonly arriving in New York in late February.
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.
Boat-tailed Grackles are not picky eaters. dining on crustaceans, mollusks, arthropods, and reptiles. They are not above scavenging food from humans, their pets, and other birds.
Boat-tailed Grackles are seasonal residents of the New York coast. They arrive in Spring and leave in late Summer. They never venture far from salt water.
Interesting Facts
Boat-tailed Grackles will often dunk their food (like pet food and rice) in water to soften it before eating.
call and song
5. Brown-headed Cowbird
Scientific Name: Molothrus ater Size: 7.5 inches
Chunky, dark-eyed blackbird with short tails and thick bills. Males are shiny black with iridescent brown heads. Females are brown with light streaks on the belly.
Female Brown-headed Cowbirds are parasites – they lay their eggs in the nests of other species. In many cases, larger Cowbird nestlings push the native species’ eggs or chicks out of the nest. Parasite hosts raise the Cowbird chick as their own.
Brown-headed Cowbirds will come to feeders, usually with Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles, and European Starlings that sometimes overwhelm your yard.
In Winter, Brown-headed Cowbirds are found among large flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles, and European Starlings.
Interesting Facts
Brown-headed Cowbirds got their name by foraging among herds of grazing buffalo and cattle.
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 eggs to hatch without intruders.
call and song
6. Baltimore Oriole
Scientific Name: Icterus galbula Size: 6.5 to 8 inches
Even though they are much more brightly colored, Orioles are part of the blackbird family. The Baltimore is probably the easiest to identify of the East Coast Orioles, and not just because it happens to be the mascot of that baseball team in Maryland (I loved Boog, Brooks, and Cal, but I’m a Yankee fan).
The Baltimore Oriole is a medium-sized icterid. The black head, wings, magnificent bright orange body feathers, and yellow underparts on the male Baltimore Oriole are stunning. The male also has a large patch of orange on the back of his neck and two black spots on each side of his head.
The female Baltimore Oriole is duller than the male and sometimes appears yellow with a brownish tinge to the black feathers.
While they normally eat insects and worms, Baltimore Orioles have a sweet tooth. They are common visitors to feeders, where they will eat fruit (they love oranges!), suet, grape jelly, and nectar.
Baltimore Orioles are the most common oriole seen in New York. They are more likely to be heard than seen, as they prefer the treetops (but if you have grape jelly and oranges…). You’ll know they are around if you memorize their song. Once I hear one, I put out the oriole buffet.
Interesting Facts
For some odd reason, Baltimore Orioles prefer darker-colored fruit than other fruit-eating species like robins.
Baltimore Orioles are the same colors (black and orange) as those on the family crest of Lord Baltimore, which is how they got their name.
call and song
7. Orchard Oriole
IScientific Name: cterus spurius Size: 5.9 to 7.1 inches
Male Orchard Orioles are brick red underneath and mostly black on top. Females are yellowish green with two distinctive white wing bars. There is no black on the female, but an immature male will show a black throat, so it is possible to tell them apart from the female. As the young male molts, more brick-orange color will appear, until it has full adult plumage.
They will come to oranges, grape jelly, and even hummingbird feeders (orioles like nectar), but are less likely to be found using them than Baltimore Orioles.
Up is a good place to search for these birds, as they prefer the tops of trees to hang out in.
Orchard Orioles are spring migrants in New York. You can find them from around April until July. They head down to Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean to spend the fall and winter.
Interesting Facts
Orchard Orioles prefer to migrate at night. This enables them to avoid predators and steer clear of bad weather.
call and song
8. European Starling
Scientific Name: Sturnus vulgaris Size: 8.5 inches
Vocal mimics of other birds and considered pests by many, the European Starling, like the Mute Swan, is an introduced species to North America.
The European Starling is a handsome bird, with its iridescent, varying plumage and amazing maneuvers in the sky known as murmurations.
Starlings can change their plumage from spotted and white to glossy and dark without molting. New feathers growing in provide the white “spots” and fade as they become older, reverting the Starling to an all-black bird.
Anywhere you look, there are Starlings. They are in the woods, sitting on telephone wires over fields, and roosting in trees in an urban neighborhood.
Starlings are foragers and can be found on the ground, usually in flocks of mixed birds like Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Robins and Crows, and even sparrows and pigeons (we birders prefer “Rock Pigeon” – go ahead, it’s on your New York state checklist).
If you see a huge flock of birds in the trees at night, most of them are probably European Starlings. You can’t get away from them. And they will swarm and empty your feeders rather quickly.
Interesting Facts
A spectacular sight in the avian world is a murmuration of European Starlings: a ribbon of blackbirds twisting, turning, and undulating as one across the sky is a sight to be seen.
European Starlings were brought to the New World by a group who wanted to have all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare’s works in America. The origin of all those Starlings everywhere across the country was 100 birds set loose in New York City’s Central Park in the 1890s.
There are more than 200 million of them at this time.
call and song
9. Eastern Meadowlark
Scientific Name: Sturnella magna Size: 7.5 to 10 inches
Despite their name, Eastern Meadowlarks are not members of the Lark family – they are Icterids just like Red-winged Blackbirds and Baltimore Orioles. They are year-round residents of New York, but habitat loss has lessened their numbers in the state.
A medium-sized songbird, Eastern Meadowlarks have bright yellow breasts with black chest chevrons that make them stand out from other birds among the grasslands and farm fields of New York. Look for them perched on tall grasses and posts throughout open fields, singing their beautiful songs.
In flight, Eastern Meadowlarks show a dark back and white stripes on either side of their tails.
While you can find them in fields and meadows during the warmer months, in winter look for them on farm fields, especially where crops have been cut down, foraging for corn and seeds among the dirt.
Interesting Facts
Although they can sing over 100 different songs, one of the most common songs sounds like they’re singing their name. Listen in fields for something that sounds like “eastern – meadowlark!”
These birds are prime victims of habitat loss; less grassland means fewer Meadowlarks. They have been declining all over their range. In New York, they are most likely found in rural areas with open meadows and fields to forage.
call and song
10. Bobolink
Scientific Name: Dolichonyx oryzivorus Size: 7 inches
Adult breeding Bobolink males are solid black with a cream-colored nape of the neck and extensive white patches around the shoulders, on the back, and rump. The rump patch is visible in flight.
Female Bobolinks are buffy overall with brown striping on the wings, large pink bills, and pale napes.
Look for the females and non-breeding male Bobolinks pointed wings, pale nape, and habits to distinguish them from sparrows.
Bobolinks are seed eaters except when they add insects to their diet to aid their growing chick’s protein intake during the breeding season. They eat grains, oats, wild and domesticated rice, and seeds, with an occasional spider thrown in.
The Bobolink prefers open fallow fields, tallgrass prairies, hayfields, meadows, and reed beds.
Interesting Facts
Bobolink flight calls sound very metallic and mechanical, similar to R2-D2 from Star Wars.
call and song
rare Blackbirds in New York
While there have been reports and sightings throughout the state, Yellow-headed Blackbirds and Brewer’s Blackbirds, along with the occasional Western Meadowlark, are accidental species (rare visitors) to the Empire State.
Where to see blackbirds in New York
In late Spring and all through Summer, you can find these birds in so many places that there are too many to list here.
Regarding Boat-tailed Grackles, the barrier beaches and other marshy areas of Long Island’s Atlantic shore are great locations to find these noisy birds.
European Starlings are now common backyard birds here, so look on wires surrounding the local parking lot, silhouetted in the tops of trees at the end of the day, or on a local bird feeding station to find them.
Black Birds in New York
There are a lot of birds with black plumages to be found in New York. Black-plumaged birds run from the obvious Crows to Sea Ducks and birds of prey. Yes, some of the blackbirds are listed above too. I’ve removed those (Red-winged Blackbird, Rusty Blackbird, Common Grackle, Boat-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, European Starling, and Bobolink) from this second set because we’ve already covered them.
Here’s a listing of 20 species of black birds you can see throughout New York, along with some fun facts and identification tips.
11. American Coot
Scientific Name: Fulica americana Size: inches to 17 inches
A duck-like bird found everywhere you would find ducks, American Coots are considered waterfowl, just like ducks. While they float like ducks on the water, on land the American Coot is quite a different bird than the ducks they like to hang around with.
American Coots are squat, plump little waterbirds with black or dark gray plumage, rounded heads, sloping white bills, and red eyes. Their legs are yellow and their toes are large for their body size and lobed, which helps them move around in the water. On land, they appear chicken-like.
These birds like freshwater wetlands, preferring ones with lots of aquatic vegetation along their shores and at least some deep water to swim around.
Interesting Facts
American Coots are more closely related to rails and cranes than to ducks.
Coots are not graceful flyers. Like the rest of the Gruiformes (Common Gallinules, formerly known as Common Moorhen, and Purple Gallinules, they are awkward in flight. They are often seen beating their wings rapidly while trying to walk across the water’s surface to gain takeoff momentum.
Call
12. American Crow
Scientific Name: Corvus brachyrhynchos Size: 15.8-20.9 inches
American Crows are not crows at all – they are ravens, but have 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. Both species have fairly short, squared tails.
They are intelligent, wary, and pretty much found everywhere in the country. Crows have a very distinctive flight pattern, a meticulous, constant flapping with very few glides in between.
American Crows will eat anything. 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.
The American Crow can be seen throughout the United States. In Florida, the American Crow is smaller but has large feet. Some Northeastern crows are as large as Ravens, and there is an overlap where Fish Crows are found.
Interesting Facts
Members of the Corvid family are adept at making and using tools. American Crows use bits of wood, leaves, and string to fashion problem-solving tools.
Crows remember faces. A famous experiment had some students on a college campus walk around in masks harassing the local Crows, while an unmasked group walked the same pathways without bothering them. One year later, wearing the mask got the professor mobbed by crows as he walked to class, showing that the Crows remembered who their enemies were.
How to tell an American Crow from a Common Raven? One way is by voice – Crows have a “caw”, Ravens croak. The other is to look at the tail. American Crows have squared-off, short tails while Raven tails are more diamond-shaped.
call and rattle
13. Fish Crow
Scientific Name Corvus ossifragus Size: 14-16 inches
While most of the United States sees the ubiquitous American Crow year-round, parts of the East Coast find two crow species – the American Crow and the Fish Crow.
Fish Crows can be found along the coastal areas of the eastern United States, and occasionally partially inland. Fish Crows look exactly like American Crows. When hanging out at the beach, how do you know what kind of crow you’re looking at? Just listen.
American Crows have their distinctive “caw”; Fish Crows do too, but they sound nasal, as if they have a cold, often utilizing a double “caw”. This is the best way to tell the two species apart, as everything written above about American Crows applies to Fish Crows, except for their preferred habitat – Fish Crows like beaches, marshes, lakes, and anywhere near water.
Interesting Facts
Another way to tell Fish and American Crows apart is if they’re perched on a thin wire, they’re probably Fish Crows.
If they find a good food source, Fish Crows stash some of it for later use.
call and song
14. Common Raven
Scientific Name: Corvus corax Size: 24 inches
Ravens are large, solid black birds with long, wedge-shaped tails, elongated narrow wings, and heavy bills. They are larger than their American and Fish Crow cousins.
They can appear hawk-like in flight. Common Ravens are acrobatic flyers, which helps when they are eluding the smaller birds that mob and chase them in flight.
Common Ravens have a very harsh and deep “caw” that’s more of a croak and can also be heard clacking their bills.
These birds are formidable predators. From mice to birds as large as herons, to eggs and carrion, they dine on it all. This is why you will often see them chased and harassed by birds, including other Crows.
Ravens are not picky. One odd place to find Common Ravens is at garbage dumps and dumpsters behind stores. They are also fond of building their nests on towers.
Common Ravens are found from the mountains to the beaches throughout New York. They don’t mind humans and can be found in rural areas, farms, and even in some suburban locations.
Interesting Facts
Ravens are highly intelligent and adept at solving complicated puzzles.
Ravens have been guarding the Tower of London for a very long time.
call and song
15. Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored)
Scientific Name: Junco hyemalus Size: 5.1 to 6.9 inches
Found all across the United States in some variation or another, the Dark-eyed Junco was at one time a group of similar birds (Slate-colored, Oregon, Pink-sided, Red-backed, Gray-headed, White-winged, and Dark-eyed) that were determined to be the same DNA, so all variations were combined under the name “Dark-eyed Junco”.
Part of the sparrow branch of the avian tree, Juncos are flitty, flashy little birds with white feathers on the outsides of their tails, making them easy to spot while moving in the underbrush. An abundant forest bird of North America, Juncos will visit your feeders when they’re around. They are also one of the most common backyard birds to come to your yard in winter.
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) are black on top and gray underneath, with white feathers along the sides of their tails that flash when in flight. Like sparrows, they don’t walk when on the ground – they hop. In the eastern and middle sections of the US, they are the snowbirds – they are usually the earliest of the winter migrants to arrive and the first to leave when the weather warms.
Interesting Facts
These guys move like the wind. They are often found in mixed flocks with other sparrows, kinglets, and chickadees going from tree to tree (or feeder to feeder). They love your birdseed and may be the most abundant species in your yard during winter.
call and song
16. Pileated Woodpecker
Scientific Name: Dryocopus pileatus Size: 16.5 inches
A large woodpecker almost the size of a crow, with an all-black body and white stripes. A long neck, a bright red crest on top of the head, and a white under-wing and white wing patch easily seen in flight are other markers for this bird.
These are noisy, loud woodpeckers. Their drum is slow and powerful, accelerates, and then trails off, not more than two times a minute.
Pileated Woodpeckers drill out cavities in trees. They like Carpenter Ants, so they’re often found foraging at the bottoms of dead trees or on fallen logs.
Pileated Woodpeckers have a fairly straight flight profile, unlike other woodpecker species, which fly in undulating lines.
Interesting Facts
Pileated Woodpecker holes are rectangular rather than round or oval like other woodpeckers, and they are deep enough to break smaller trees in half. Nothing excavates a tree like a Pileated.
Oddly enough, this was the inspiration for Woody Woodpecker.
call and drumming
17. Glossy Ibis
Scientific Name: Plegadis falcinellus Size: 23 Inches Wingspan: 36 inches
The most common Ibis in the Northeast, the Glossy Ibis is an all-black wading bird with a distinctive down-curving bill and iridescent, glossy plumage.
Adult non-breeding birds are black with dark heads, necks, and backs. Breeding birds are a blend of black and other colors. While Glossy Ibises appear to be 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.
Glossy Ibises are found in freshwater, brackish, and saltwater marshes. They are often found in small groups mixed in with other herons and waders.
Interesting Facts
Glossy Ibises have a rather prehistoric flight silhouette, with their long necks and legs outstretched, and their distinctive long, down-curving bill leading the way.
call
18. Black Scoter
Scientific Name: Melanitta nigra Size: 19 inches
The Black Scoter is the smallest and most compact of the Scoter family. Look for them anywhere along the coast during the winter months.
They are dark sea ducks with short bills, usually found floating in rafts on the open salt water, often mixed in with White-winged Scoter and Long-tailed Ducks.
Males have yellow-orange bills and are all black; females are dark with whitish patches on the face and cheeks.
Interesting Facts
Black Scoters are very vocal. They make a whistling sound that carries over the water.
call, song, wing noise
19. White-winged Scoter
Scientific Name: Melanitta fusca Size: 21 inches
The largest Scoter, these sea ducks are usually found in large rafts floating along with other members of the Scoter family. White-winged Scoters have a long bill and 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 Scoters are 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 in flight but also when diving or sitting in the water.
Seasonal visitors to the East Coast, White-winged Scoters are found in winter wherever the water is cold, and New York waters are certainly cold in winter.
Interesting Facts
White-winged Scoters are usually found in mixed rafts along with Black Scoters. 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).
call
20. Surf Scoter
Scientific Name: Melanitta perspicillata Size: 20 inches
These are the Scoters found closest to shore and the easiest to identify. Look for them in winter months anywhere there are waves and swells for them to frolic in.
Surf Scoter males are all black with a white patch on the forehead and a larger one on the nape of the neck. They have heavy triangular, multi-colored, bulbous bills that stand out among the sea ducks.
Male Surf Scoter bills appear orange from afar but are black, white, red, and yellow. They are wider and puffier at the top and taper towards the tip, giving their heads a wedge-like look.
The female Surf Scoter has two white patches on her face, one in the front being long and narrow
while the other sits behind and beneath the eye.
Surf Scoters like to be where the breaking waves are, so they are usually the Scoter found closest to shore. They dive for crustaceans, mollusks, small fish, and aquatic vegetation.
Interesting Facts
An old name for the Surf Scoter used to be “Skunk Head”.
First-winter males do not have the large, protruding bill of mature adults.
call and wing noise
21. Turkey Vulture
Scientific Name: Cathartes aura Size: 26 to 28 inches Wingspan: 67 to 72 inches
Large black birds 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.
They are often found in big kettles, with an occasional Black Vulture or two in the mix. Turkey Vultures nest on the ground in crevices or hollow logs. They may also utilize abandoned heron and hawk nests.
The Turkey Vulture’s sole source of sustenance is carrion. Turkey Vultures cruise overhead on thermals, rising early to search for dead things.
Turkey Vultures roost high in trees or on structures. On Long Island’s North Fork, in the Riverhead area, they love the trees along the Peconic River but are also very fond of school and large building roofs, especially if there is a heat source (think large HVAC unit) to gather around on cold nights.
Turkey Vultures like company, so a roost can sometimes contain 30-40 birds.
Interesting Facts
A flight of vultures is called a kettle. Turkey Vultures can smell their food while circling high above the ground.
While they are often seen squabbling over food, Turkey Vultures will move off to allow other birds to warm up and return if there’s an open space at the heat source. If they’re part of the roost, they do this with Black Vultures too.
Call, hatching, and nesting
22. Black Vulture
Scientific Name: Coragyps atratus Size:22 to 25 inches Wingspan: 54 to 59 inches
All black birds with dark, naked heads. 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 their wings shows white at the wrist (tips of wings), with the white fingers outspread. The tail is also shorter than the Turkey Vulture.
Black Vultures are carrion eaters, meaning they only eat dead things. They ride the thermals, going up a bit later in the day than a Turkey Vulture and flying higher up, in search of the dead and dying.
Black Vultures are often found mixed in with Turkey Vultures. They roost in trees or on tall poles, usually close to water or any structure that generates thermals.
Interesting Facts
A Black Vulture’s sense of smell is not as keen as their Turkey Vulture cousins, so they soar above the Turkey Vultures and watch them. When the Turkey Vulture finds food, the Black Vultures follow them downward to the carcass. Black Vultures are opportunists and may be found scrounging around the local dump.
call and wing beats
23. Double-Crested Cormorant
Scientific Name: Phalacrocorax auratus Size: 33 inches. Wingspan: 52 inches
Large black birds with black legs, webbed black feet, and orange chin patches. 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.
Double-crested Cormorants are fish eaters. They dive constantly searching for food, only stopping to dry off their feathers.
Double-crested Cormorants can be found on larger freshwater bodies or in salt water. They are seen sitting in trees, on posts, and on rocks with their wings outstretched.
Cormorant feathers lack the waterproofing of other diving birds and become easily waterlogged. This is why they sit lower in the water. They must dry off completely before they can get into the water again.
Interesting Facts
When you see a flock of large dark birds flying in V-formation, they might be Cormorants, but watch for a moment. If they remain in the V, 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.
call and song
24. Great Cormorant
Scientific Name: Phalacrocorax carbo Size: 36 inches Wingspan: 47 to 63 inches
Adult birds are all black with white throats and yellowish chin patches. 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.
Great Cormorants are fish eaters, diving up to 100 feet down to catch fish in their hooked bills.
Great Cormorants like rocky coastlines. They are seen on jetty light towers, breakwaters, large boulders, and rocky coastal islands. They are strictly sea birds and are usually not found in freshwater.
Interesting Facts
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.
call and song
How to tell a Great Cormorant from a Double-crested Cormorant
Great Cormorants are the largest of the Cormorants. They are heavier-bodied than the smaller Double-crested. Juvenile Great Cormorants have white bellies, as opposed to the dark bellies of the Double-crested cormorant juveniles, 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.
25. Common Murre
Scientific Name: Uria aalge Size: 17.5 inches
Common Murres are Alcids, birds that spend most of their time in open ocean waters. Their feet are further back than land-dwelling birds, making them awkward walkers. Despite their shortcomings on land, 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.
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.
They also tend to swim and fly in straight lines. Like most alcids, they are heavy-bodied birds and need a little help on takeoff. They can be seen churning up the waters and “running” across the swells to get airborne.
Interesting Facts
The eggs are unusual – they are narrow (almost pointed) at one end and broad and round at the other. The eggs roll around in a circular pattern, ensuring they won’t roll out of the “nest” and off the cliff.
call and song
26. Thick-billed Murre
Scientific Name: Uria lomvia Size: 18 inches
Thick-billed Murres are Alcids. They spend most of their time on open ocean waters rather than land. Like other alcids, their feet are positioned further back on their bodies than land-dwelling birds, making them awkward walkers.
They are graceful swimmers, flying through the ocean on strong, streamlined wings. They use their legs like a ship’s rudder, steering and propelling them along the ocean surface with speed and grace.
Thick-billed Murres have that tuxedo penguin look: solid black on top and white underneath. They have a slight white gape (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.
Thick-billed Murres are ocean foragers, 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. Alcids are heavy-bodied birds and need a little help on takeoff. They can be seen churning up the waters and “running” across the swells to get airborne.
Interesting Facts
Thick-billed Murre young are fearless, plunging off nest cliffs to the sea below even before they learn how to fly, with one parent guiding them along the way and bringing them food until they can forage for themselves.
call and song
27. Razorbill
Scientific Name: Alca torda Size: 26 inches
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 strips around the face and bill, and the throats and faces are solid black. Non-breeding plumage loses the bill line and the lower jaw and throat fade to white.
The underwing is white and noticeable in flight.
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 mostly found in Iceland and the Gulf of Maine, Razorbills are visible from shore along the Atlantic Coast in winter. You can see them from the beaches, breakwaters, jetties, harbors, and inlets of coastal New York.
Interesting Facts
Whenever winter sends cold currents southward, Razorbills will follow. They have been seen and reported as far south as Florida.
The French name for the Razorbill is “Petit Pengouin” (Little Penguin).
call and song
28. Dovekie
Scientific Name: Alle alle Size: 8.25 inches
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 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 dark underwings and dark eyes. They are fast flyers, and their size makes them look like a black and white football zooming across the ocean.
Interesting Facts
Dovekies are rare visitors from the High Arctic, only coming down in winter. They will get blown close to shore by storms and prevailing winds.
Call and Song
29. Black Guillemot
Scientific Name: Cepphus grylle Size: 13 inches
A duck-sized, round-bodied Alcid, found in pairs or small groups along cold, rocky shorelines. These Alcids are occasional visitors to New York.
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). In either plumage, the birds have black bills, white underwings, and red legs and feet.
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, they occasionally come to New York waters during the winter. Look in inlets and around jetties (Montauk and Shinnecock Inlets are good locations for them).
Interesting facts
It is believed that the Black Guillemot got its name from the French for “William” (Guillaume).
Call and Song
30. Common Loon
Scientific Name: Gavia immer Size: 32 inches with a 46-inch wingspan
Large water birds with heavy, thick bills, distinctive breeding plumage, and eerie, yodeling calls.
Common Loons have long, heavy bodies. 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.
Common Loons have an odd flight profile – they 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, like a jumbo jet.
In summer, the Common Loon’s freshwater 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 in pursuit of prey.
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.
Interesting facts
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 lead in some sporting equipment, mostly fishing tackle and birdshot.
Call and Song
Where to see these black birds in New York
In late Spring and all through Summer, you can find these birds in so many places that there are too numerous to list here. The New York Bird Alliance (formerly Audubon) and its local chapters are good resources. You can also find most of these birds at the 5 National Wildlife Refuges in the state. Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Broad Channel (Queens) is a great year-round place to see birds.
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, saltwater shorelines attract visiting sea birds. There is nothing like the beach in winter for tranquility and great winter birds!
Places like the Atlantic Coast, Long Island Sound, and large rivers and harbors are perfect locations to search for sea ducks and Alcids.
Hints
– Check the winds before heading out to look for Alcids and sea ducks. When it’s windy, look at marinas, harbors, and sheltered areas to find them. They like the calm water just as much as the rough stuff.
– A spotting scope is an awesome tool for doing sea watches, but a decent pair of binoculars will work just as well to locate birds that like being close to shore.
Conclusion
Blackbirds and black birds are everywhere across New York State. Get a pair of binoculars and get out there to see them.
