Unicolored Blackbird

19 cm. Male glossy black. <NFemale mantle dark brown, streaked blackish. Wings black, the primaries edged dark rufous. Underparts dark olive brown. Throat greenish yellow, slightly streaked black. Flanks streaked. Willis Oniki ^119 show a female that resembles the male, but has an olive yellowish belly with a black chest and throat. Call "chek". Song a sequence of upward tew tew tew and a gurgling rattle "trrrrrrrrr". Ruffles feathers and spreads tail in display. Forages in cattails and other aquatic vegetation, much more skulking than /Agelaius ruficapillus and sometimes difficult to see. Found in small groups and pairs. Breeds in loose colonies, November ^167 . Locally common in wetlands with standing water, reed beds with Juncus, Typha, Scirpus species , marshes. Some times forages in agricultural areas 62]. Wetlands close to coast from Rio de Janeiro northward ^167 , e.g at<8E>Lagoa Feia ^40 . Widely distributed inland. To 500 meters The female of the race /atroolivaceus of coastal Southeast Brazil depicted is much darker underneath than females of other races. 13304 Calls of pair after playback. Juiz de Fora, MG. 11<10>2<10>00. Sunny, 25<91>C. Cattail swamp in open country. With /Chiroxiphia caudata, Vireo olivaceus .: 6994 Calls, Beni, Bolivia, LNS 100669, recorded by B. Hennessy.: 6668 > Male: 1367 > Female: