I photographed this red-winged blackbird at Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) from La Barriere, Winnipeg, MB, Canada on August 05, 2026 at 11:29 AM by Chris O’Donoghue · iNaturalist Canada today. At first I thought the unique facial feature might be a result of a juvenile going through its awkward stage as plumage changes, but on looking further into what juvenile red-wings look like, I now don’t think that’s the case. Is it a disease, or genetic mistype? Can anyone shed light on this detail?
Could this just be normal molting?
I think it’s a really bad molt too, definitely an r/bloodcheep moment
Should I post it there or someone already did?
Great minds think alike. I saw the photo and thought BLOÖDCHEËP!
Yeah!
Can i have the permission to post the observation on the subreddit? Just Asking :3
Thanks, all. I’m basically assuming moult, but I’ve never seen anything that extreme before, and now I know what an r/bloodcheep moment is, so I i’ve learned something from this.
@idkwhattonamemyself, you can certainly post this. All my inat images are CC-BY so you don’t have to ask, although I appreciate it.