Euphagus cyanocephalus

At first I couldn't place the noises I heard when I walked to the store last night for dinner. I stood for a moment in the middle of the aisle, thinking how odd it was that I was remembering the pond behind Neno's house in Missourri. Then I realized that I was hearing a blackbird, which was a decidedly out-of-place sound inside the supermarket, especially after dark.

But then I looked up and saw him, sitting there on top of the freezer: jet black, bright yellow eyes, trilling and clucking like a good blackbird should. He was alert and in good health, and seemed to be genuinely nonplussed about being in what must have been a very strange place.

I watched him for a few minutes, then did the remainder of my shopping. When I returned, he was gone.

[Bone up on the Brewer's Blackbird here and listen to a recording here.]