Yellow-headed Blackbird - 14 Apr 2017

While visiting Barr Lake State Park, Denver, CO I spent some time digiscoping the male Yellow-headed Blackbird that was singing near the shoreline. The bird spent time between the trees and the small cattail marsh along the shoreline. I spent time digiscoping it from about 50' away.

Yellow-headed Blackbirds have the coolest call of any Icterid sp. I was fascinated by the way this bird not only stretched his neck when calling, but contorted it, as if it needed to be twisted in order to get the sound out. So the question is raised, "Is this normal behavior?"