Cattail Kingdom

While waiting for an American Bittern to appear the other evening, this male Red-winged Blackbird landed on this gently arcing cattail frond, then proclaimed his song. When I viewed this image later it kind of reminded me of a fairytale scene with a king surveying his kingdom and then shouting out a proclamation. In animal terms this scenario is closer to the truth than I imagined. Red-winged Blackbird males hold a definite territory and may breed with up to 15 females who nest on their territory. The average over a range of studies was 2-5 females per male on territory. This makes the species one of the most highly “polygynous” of all birds. Molecular studies have also shown that females breed with multiple males while on a single territory and during one nesting attempt.