From Opus

Displaying Adult Male
Photo by David Roach
Location: Wakodachatchee Wetlands, Florida, USA

Female
Photo by bobsofpa
Location: Green Cay Wetlands, Florida, USA

Agelaius phoeniceus

[edit] Identification

Male: A small blackbird with jet-black body and bright red shoulder patches (epaulets) edged with yellow.
Female and Juvenile: Heavily streaked brown overall, very easily mistaken for a large sparrow, but note "blackbird" bill and strong streaking along body.

[edit] Similar Species

Easily confused with the Tricolored Blackbird, which is only found in western USA, from Southern Oregon south to Baja California.

[edit] Distribution

Breeds from Alaska east across Canada to Newfoundland and south to northern Baja California, central Mexico, the Gulf coast, and Florida.

[edit] Taxonomy

The Red-shouldered Blackbird from Cuba was formerly considered a subspecies of the Red-winged Blackbird.
Polytypic. Consists of about 25 subspecies.

Immature male
Photo by Daddylion
St John's Marsh, Michigan, USA

[edit] Habitat

Preferred habitats include fresh and saltwater marshes, rice paddies, sedge meadows, alfalfa fields, and other croplands.

Photo by nitiman Female, Alto, New Mexico, USA

markshep Moreno Valley, California

[edit] Behaviour

Can fly at speeds of up to 30 mph during migration.

[edit] Breeding

Although primarily a marsh bird, the Red-winged Blackbird will nest near virtually any body of water and occasionally breeds in upland pastures. Each pair raises two or three broods a season, building new nest for each clutch. Each time they build a new nest, which keeps the nest from becoming infected with parasites that could kill the baby birds.

After the breeding season, the birds gather with other blackbirds in flocks, sometimes numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Although blackbirds are often considered pests because they consume grain in cultivated fields, farmers benefit because the birds consume harmful insects during the nesting season.

[edit] Vocalisation

[edit] Song

Composed of a series of introductory notes konk-la-ree or gurr-ga-leee followed by a terminal buzz or trill.

[edit] Call

Short and relatively simple - low clack, sharp nasal deekk, and metallic tink.

[edit] In Culture

Sightings of this bird were reported in 1600 by English settlers.

[edit] References

1. What Bird

[edit] External Links