Blackbrfffds and Diet

One other interesting Blackbird fact I learned from Gordon Orians' Blackbirds of the Americas is that Blackbirds have a uniquely powerful beak. Most birds, somewhat like alligators, can bite fairly hard but are weak when it comes to opening their mouths. That's why Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, could hold the crocs' mouths closed with just his hands. Blackbirds are the opposite--they are great at opening their beaks, which is called "gaping." Since they're unlikely to encounter a spirited Australian who holds their mouths closed for fun, why do they have this ability? The answer is that they use their superpowers to pry open gaps in grass stems or curled leaves and pick out bugs from inside.

That's why when I saw this blackbird by the lake's edge, I was surprised to see it filling its beak with tiny yellow flowers from the burr-clover, Medicago polymorpha.

What was this bird doing? Eating the flowers? bringing them back for its young to eat? After I watched the bird, it flew across the lake and landed in a tree which definitely has a blackbird nest in it. I read about another potential explanation in a book called Wild Health by Cindy Engel. She mentions several studies which show some birds, including starlings, line their nests with fresh greenery, especially if they are re-using an old nest. The idea is that an older nest may have more parasites, and the green plants fumigate the nest for a new year of use. Do blackbirds re-use their nests? Birder's Handbook didn't say, so let's ask the blackbird:

"Mpph mmmph mmmph, mppph mppphhhh moppphh!"

Well, there you have it.