NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Tricolored blackbirds (Agelaius tricolor) look very much like the abundant and widespread red-winged blackbird, to which they are closely related, but they are a distinct and unique species with different behaviors.

The Tricolored blackbird is highly gregarious and breeds in colonies that historically numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Today, their entire population has declined to less than 200,000 and continues to decline.

Join UC Davis Biologist and Tricolored blackbird expert, Bob Meese, on Thursday, May 28, at 7 p.m., to hear about this interesting local bird, the challenges it faces, and the science of monitoring this species.

This lecture will be online in a Zoom meeting. You must register on the Tuleyome events website (be sure to include your email address) and download Zoom. (There is no need to create an account.) After registering, participants will be sent an email with the meeting ID and password. After the lecture, you will be able to ask questions via Zoom’s chat feature.

This lecture is part of the free monthly “Nature and You” lecture series sponsored by Tuleyome. Tuleyome is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit conservation organization based in Woodland, California.

The word “Tuleyome” (pronounced too-lee-OME-ee) is a Lake Miwok Indian word that means “deep home place.” And that term “deep home place” exemplifies our deep connection to our environment, our communities and our regional public lands.