|Red-breasted Blackbird Leistes militaris|
(aka Sturnella militaris)
The Red-breasted Blackbird is found in non-forested parts of northern South America where it is spreading along with de-forestation.
|It is a northern replacement for White-browed Blackbird (Leistes superciliaris) with which it is very similar to the extent that some authorities, such as Sick, lump the two species together as Red-breasted Blackbird. The most obvious difference between the two is the bold white supercilium of the White-browed. As a result we were a bit thrown by the bird in the 4th photo which shows a buffy supercilium until we had established that this was either an immature male or a fresh plumaged male both of whom have pale supercilia and brown fringing to their otherwise black feathers.|
|The third photo shows a female which is strongly marked and has a pale pink wash on its belly.
The males were making display flights which consisted of flying up from a perch on a bush to about 10 metres then parachuting down with wings and tail well open while singing
|There are illustrations in Hilty & Brown, Plate 44; and Ridgely & Greenfield, Plate 95.|