Yellow-headed Blackbird - Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus

A highlight of a late spring/summer drive along Marble Hot Springs Road in the Sierra Valley (north of Truckee, CA) is the sight and sounds of the Yellow-headed Black-bird. We don't see this species often in the Bay Area, as it prefers fresh water marshes more inland, such as in the Central Valley and the Sierras. It's a "western" species that winters in Mexico and warmer areas of the southwest, then migrating north to our midwest and northwest and western Canada. 

This link to eNature  provides good summary of winter and summer ranges, along with a link to his vocalizations (one dares not call them "songs"):

Yellow-headed Blackbird migration

Here's a male on his territory, sitting on a perch of the appropriate color:

The males sounds are better heard than described. William Leon Dawson (Birds of California) gives a colorful account of what one might hear:

 "… Verily, if love affected us all in similar fashion, the world would be a merry madhouse. The Yellow-head is an extraordinary person--you are prepared for that once you catch sight of his resplendent gold-upon-black livery--but his avowal of the tender passion is a revelation of incongruity. Grasping a reed firmly in both fists, he leans forward, and, after premonitory gulps and gasps, succeeds in pressing out a wail of despairing agony which would do credit to a dying catamount. When you have recovered from the first shock, you strain the eyes in astonishment that a mere bird, and a bird in love at that, should give rise to such a cataclysmic sound. But he can do it again, and his neighbor across the way can do as well, or worse."

Taxonomy is simple, as the Yellow-headed is in a monotypic genus, and is one of about 107 icterid species. One can easily see the relationship to the orioles. I included the shots of the bird on the orange/black hazard sign to show that the deep yellow color borders on yellow-orange. When not singing they forage near the ground, like many blackbirds, and their size and aggressive nature keeps the Red-winged and Brewer's Blackbirds from intruding on the prime marshy areas. I estimated well over a hundred Yellow-heads were present along the road.