A mostly black inhabitant of swamps and marshes. The male has a telltale orange-red shoulder patch with pale yellow trim, which the female lacks. Both sexes of Tawny-shouldered Blackbird have a yellow-orange shoulder, though the shoulder color is sometimes only visible in flight. The Shiny Cowbird lacks a shoulder patch, is quite glossy, and has a shorter and stouter bill than Red-shouldered Blackbird. The call is a “chut” or “chut-chut” and song is a shrill “Shuh-reee-eee.”