Our red-winged blackbirds arrived early this year: first one male, then a second. Both has barely reached the threshold of adulthood, small and slim, the red bars on their wings not yet . . . well, red.
I went through a childhood phase in which the red-winged blackbird was my favorite bird. I had never seen one in the wild — despite the fact that they are indigenous to virtually all of this land now known collectively as North America, and were summer residents of the lands of my childhood, by then development was already pushing them out. They are not endangered — indeed, their official classification is “least concern” — but they thrive better in some environments than others.
This is one of them.
It was odd, however, to see the small slender flash of shiny black against the snow, particularly with the subtle striations of pale brick and beige across each wing. They do not usually put in an appearance here until spring is solidly under way, and even then, it’s usually for a fairly limited season.
As I child, I also thought their wings were banded solely in scarlet. Photos and drawings in the encyclopedias of the day didn’t do the reality of their appearance any sort of justice, and it would not be until more recent years, able to see them up close, that I would learn that they also have an ivory-colored edge beneath the red bars, a hint of gold connecting the two shades. Up close, it looks like red dye fading through orange to off-white — or like a single tongue of flame, red-hot at its base, stretching outward to fade near-white in the light at its tip.
It’s what makes the male, at least, one of the Firebirds.
It’s one of our great good fortunes to live in this place; it is given to us to see the true lives of the wild birds, to watch them grow and transform, to get to know their habits and lifeways intimately. Having been named for one of the great raptors, it’s no surprise, then, that these wild and beautiful creatures should serve as inspiration for Wings’s own work. It’s how he found his way into The Firebird Collection. From its description in the Necklaces Gallery here on the site:
RedWing Necklace
Second in Wings’s Firebird series: this one, evoking the colorful feathers of the red-winged blackbird native to this land. A single wing of brilliantly polished rosarita, bezel-set and trimmed in twisted silver, opens into “feathers” of two small sterling silver spacer beads flanked by a pair of larger ones. The pendant hangs from a strand of beads in the colors of the blackbird’s cloak: graduated glossy natural jet discs alternating with the crimson of old natural branch coral, terminating at either end in a segment of tiny olivella-shell heishi in the delicate ivory color of the bird’s wing bars. The pendant hangs 1-7/8″ in length (including bail) by 7/8″ across at the widest point (the silver beads at the bottom). The cabochon is 1-1/8″ long by 5/8″ across at the widest point. The strand of beads is just over 17.5″ (all dimensions approximate). Close-up view of pendant shown at top.
Sterling silver; rosarita (gold slag); branch coral; jet; ivory olivella-shell heishi
$1,600 + shipping, handling, and insurance
The pendant looks like the wing itself, emerging from the black feathers: a scarlet teardrop, terminating in the “white” of sterling silver ingot wingtips.
It applies only to the male, of course; those who bestowed English labels upon our wild birds erased the females as surely as they erased the full human status of women. The female red-winged blackbird, of course, is neither red of wing nor even black; she is a dusty, earthy brown, barred and dotted with off-white, looking much like an unusually large female sparrow.
I much prefer our way. We name birds, just as we name people, based upon who they are and what they do, not what only some half or so of them happen to look like. We have always known that action is a better predictor, a better indicator, of true identity than mere outward dress.
Speaking of actions, this small bird possesses one other outsized feature of which my young self was always unaware. It has one of the most beautiful calls I’ve ever heard, a combination of burrs and trills and long, sustained bell-like notes as clear as finest crystal. The two males that have been here these last weeks, one in particular, have invested much time in composing and performing their songs. Wings suggested, the other day, that perhaps he was calling for a mate, and I responded that I expected that he was.
As of yesterday, his courting efforts bore fruit.
A newly-adult female, barely larger than a sparrow herself, arrived on the feeder yesterday morning. She was anxious, skittish and shy, easily frightened away by the slightest sound or movement and the appearance of even the smallest birds. Still, she returned to eat.
A few moments ago, she appeared again, but this time, she was not alone. Her new husband (or husband-to-be, at least), had brought her to the feeder for a feast.
I suspect that we will, in the weeks to come, be visited by their children. We will also see the female grow into her own identity: Once motherhood is in the offing, they become fierce guardians and even warriors. Her actions will show who she is. She will come into her own as a Firebird, too.
~ Aji
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