(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Chicagoans should be on the lookout for one of the city's more aggressive birds, the red-winged blackbird, which begins its breeding season and is known to be quite territorial.
The birds are plentiful at Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary, but one Chicagoan we spoke with calls them a "beautiful handful" because of their nesting behavior.
"Sometimes they'll get aggressive and hit you on the head," said the woman, who gave her name as Donna. She notes, too, that some red-winged blackbirds are practical, too, and will eat seeds from your hand.
Some bird watchers say the species will "punch above their weight" and even confront larger birds like hawks – and again, have no problem mixing it up with humans.
"They'll dive-bomb you," says Warren Johnson, an experienced bird watcher. "I've been hit by them on my bicycle a number of times. They particularly don't like white helmets."
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