Brewer's Blackbirds: Iridescent with brilliant eyes

It's a delight to see a male Brewer's Blackbird in full sunlight — I usually see these birds as only black shapes with glowing eyes, high in the trees at Wascana Park. But when they are well lit, these birds glisten with shimmering iridescence. And those eyes! Those bright, shining yellow eyes.

Male Brewer's Blackbird, strutting across Wascana Park, in Regina, SK  © SB

The females, however, are somewhat less brilliant, both in feathers and eyes, which in the case of the female Brewer's Blackbird I saw with the flashy guy above, were both dull brown.

 Female Brewer's Blackbird in Wascana Park, Regina, SK   © SB

What are these? Brewer's Blackbirds (Quiscale de Brewer) 
Location: Wascana Park, Regina, Saskatchewan
Photo date: May 4, 2012.

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