Vagrant to Bahamas, Barbados, Costa Rica, Cuba, Greenland, Iceland, Panama, St Pierre and Miquelon (NB) (P).
Breeds in south-central Canada (from interior British Columbia east to northern Saskatchewan, south-central Manitoba and south-western Ontario) southern in western and central USA to California, central New Mexico, northern Kansas, northern Illinois and Michigan and extreme north-western Mexico (north-eastern Baja California); migrates to southern USA and Mexico (south to northern Oaxaca and Veracruz).
 
Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.
Population
Estimated population is 20,000,000 (2010).
Yellow-headed Blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) [XC160337]
by Thomas G. Graves from Humboldt, SK, Canada (song)
Yellow-headed Blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) [XC153739]
by Ian Cruickshank from Marble Hot Springs Road, Loyalton (in Sierra Valley), California, United States (call, song)
Subspecies
No subspecies.
Analyses of mitochondrial DNA indicate that this species is distantly related to Sturnella. It resembles Agelaius in breeding ecology, but displays are quite different.