Red-winged Blackbird

Agelaius phoeniceusOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Blackbirds and Orioles (Icteridae)

Codes: Common Name: RWBL Scientific Name: AGEPHO ITIS Taxonomic No.: 179045

Red-winged Blackbird: The male Red-winged blackbird has a glossy-black body and bright red shoulder patches edged with yellow.

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Overview

Red-winged Blackbird: Small blackbird with jet-black body and bright red shoulder patches edged with yellow on bottom. Runs or hops while foraging on the ground. Eats seeds, grains, berries, fruits, insects, caterpillars, spiders, snails, grubs and mollusks. Strong direct flight on rapid wing beats.

Range and Habitat

Red-winged Blackbird: Breeds from Alaska east across Canada to Newfoundland and south to northern Baja California, central Mexico, the Gulf Coast, and Florida. Spends winters regularly across the U.S. north to British Columbia, Great Lakes, and Pennsylvania. Preferred habitats include fresh and saltwater marshes, rice paddies, sedge meadows, alfalfa fields, and other croplands.

Topo Map: Perching-like Body

Listen to Call

Voice Text

Song is composed of a series of introductory notes "konk-la-ree" or "gurr-ga-leee" followed by a terminal buzz or trill. Calls are short and relatively simple - low "clack", sharp nasal "deekk", and metallic "tink".

Interesting Facts

Each pair of Red-winged Blackbirds raise 2-3 broods per season. Each time they build a new nest, which keeps the nest from becoming infected with parasites that could kill the baby birds.

During migration the Red-winged Blackbird can travel at over 30 mph.

The Red-winged Blackbird is native to North America.

A group of blackbirds has many collective nouns, including "a cloud of blackbirds", "a cluster of blackbirds", and a "merl of blackbirds."

Bird Term Glossary

Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Red-winged Blackbird

● Song: Song is composed of a series of introductory notes "konk-la-ree" or "gurr-ga-leee" followed by a terminal buzz or trill. Calls are short and relatively simple - low "clack", sharp nasal "deekk", and metallic "tink".

● Foraging & Feeding: Red-winged Blackbird: Feeds on insects, small fruits, seeds, waste grain, and small aquatic invertebrates. Runs or hops while foraging on the ground. Although regarded as a pest because it eats grain in cultivated fields, the farmer also benefits from consumption of harmful insects.

● Breeding & nesting: Red-winged Blackbird: Three to five pale blue green eggs marked with dark brown and purple are laid in a well-made cup of marsh grass or reeds and attached to emergent vegetation or built in a marsh shrub. Incubation ranges from 11 to 12 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Red-winged Blackbird: Tricolored Blackbird, which occurs only in Oregon and California, has white bordered red shoulder patch. Female has darker belly.

Flight Pattern

Strong direct flight with deep rapid wing beats., Displaying males fly with slow stiff shallow wing beats with epaulettes raised.

● Range & Habitat: Red-winged Blackbird: Breeds from Alaska east across Canada to Newfoundland and south to northern Baja California, central Mexico, the Gulf Coast, and Florida. Spends winters regularly across the U.S. north to British Columbia, Great Lakes, and Pennsylvania. Preferred habitats include fresh and saltwater marshes, rice paddies, sedge meadows, alfalfa fields, and other croplands.

^BreedingColonial, Some polygamous

^PopulationAbundant

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight2.3 Ounces

Perching-like Body

Shoulder

The short feathers overlying the median secondary coverts on the top of the wing. They are located near the back and can be seen as the “first row” of feathers on the birds wing. They are also called marginal coverts and lesser secondary coverts.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America