A grind of blackbirds

The Brewer's blackbirds were having a convention down at Tyee Spit. A noisy, chattering bunch, all very busy with their convention duties. Euphagus cyanocephalus, male. The scrap of paper is a cigarette label; I didn't see it at the time. The legend reads: "Fumee du tabac est toxique". (Tobacco smoke is poisonous: obligatory warning on all tobacco products in Canada.) The female is a plain,…