Red-winged blackbird

Quick Take

• The male's red shoulder patch does more than look striking. It communicates something specific about the bird's state that shapes how other animals respond to it. See territorial signaling →
• This bird willingly attacks animals far larger than itself, and it does so because of a biological reason it is wired to take that risk. Discover its aggressive defense →
• A single male shares his territory with multiple females, but the arrangement comes with a trade-off that makes it more complicated than it sounds. Explore the mating arrangement →
• With 210 million individuals, it's one of North America's most abundant birds, but that number tells only part of the story. Check the population numbers →

The red-winged blackbird is found almost everywhere across North America except for deserts and mountains. The male is easily identified by the glossy black feathers and red shoulder patches. Its rich song can be heard every year beginning in the spring. It has also been known to attack people who wander too close to its territory.

3 Amazing Red-winged Blackbird Facts

• The red-winged blackbird is among the most diverse songbirds in the world. At least 20 subspecies are recognized, some of which vary slightly in their size and appearance.
• The red-winged blackbird serves a beneficial environmental role by helping to control insect populations. On the other hand, they will also sometimes steal grain from farmers.
• In the breeding season, several females will share the same territory of a single male.

Where to Find the Red-winged Blackbird

The red-winged blackbird is native to North America. Depending on the time of the year, it may be found anywhere from Alaska to the Caribbean and Central America. This species lives in a variety of different habitats, including open fields and sparse deciduous forests, but its favorite habitat is freshwater and saltwater marshes and wetlands.

Nests

The red-winged blackbird constructs its nests in rushes, grasses, cattails, sedges, or other tall vegetation. The nest itself is made from grasses and mosses, lined with mud and branches.

Classification and Scientific Name

The scientific name of the red-winged blackbird is Agelaius phoeniceus. The genus name is derived from an ancient Greek word meaning gregarious; if you’re not familiar with this term, it describes the bird’s highly social behavior. The species name of phoeniceus is a Latin term meaning crimson or red. This species is closely related to other types of American blackbirds.

Size, Appearance, and Behavior

The red-winged blackbird is characterized by a stout body, broad shoulders, and a slender, conical bill. Like many other songbirds, it exhibits a strong element of sexual dimorphism, meaning the sexes vary dramatically in appearance. The male is covered in glossy black feathers with red and yellow around the shoulders. This patch is thought to be an adaptation that the bird can puff up when feeling confident or threatened. It might even signal the male’s level of aggression. The female, by contrast, is characterized by brown plumage with dark stripes on the underside and white eyebrow markings. While the male is slightly larger, the average length of this species is 7 to 8 inches with a 12 to 15-inch wingspan.

The red-winged blackbird is a highly social species that roosts and travels in large groups. During the day, these groups break up to forage for food and then reform at night. Their behavior changes slightly in the mating season when a male will become a little more aggressive in the defense of its territory and its mates. It has been known to attack much larger animals, such as humans, that encroach on its territory. While both sexes make a variety of different calls to communicate, the male is the only one capable of producing songs, one of the most important adaptations for attracting mates,. They learn this song from other males as juveniles. This species is also quite fast and agile in the air, flying at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour.

Migration Pattern and Timing

Northern populations of the red-winged blackbird migrate in flocks of thousands for the winter toward the southern United States and Central America. Western and southern populations tend to remain in the same place year-round.

Diet

The red-winged blackbird has an omnivorous diet. It will spend most of the day foraging on the ground and in trees.

What does the red-winged blackbird eat?

The red-winged blackbird will consume almost anything it can find, including seeds, nuts, grains, insects (like flies and butterflies), snails, frogs, and carrion.

Predators, Threats, and Conservation Status

The red-winged blackbird is considered to be a species of least concern by the IUCN Red List. The biggest threat to this species over the last few centuries has been the loss of wetlands to development. Like many songbirds, it has adapted well to living near people, but this has sometimes led to accidents and clashes. While the bird is supposed to be protected by the US Migratory Bird Treaty Act, it is sometimes deliberately hunted or poisoned. Natural predation and disease have also led to many premature deaths every year.

What eats the red-winged blackbird?

The red-winged blackbird is preyed upon by raccoons, minks, owls, wrens, magpies, and birds of prey. It has evolved several adaptations to deal with predators, including the ability to conceal its nest in tall vegetation and roost in large groups.

Reproduction, Young, and Molting

The blackbird’s mating season usually lasts between early spring and mid-summer. The male bird has evolved adaptations to initiate courtship with his elaborate song and a visual display involving the flapping of wings. A single male will normally have about five females in his territory to mate with. He is quite aggressive about defending his territory and will attack anyone who comes within the boundaries. The nest is built at some point in March to May (or even earlier in the south) near a marsh or other moist area.

After copulating, the female will produce three to seven eggs per clutch with multiple clutches per breeding season. The development of the young is very rapid. The eggs hatch after about a week and the chicks start flying in 10 to 14 days. By the two- or three-week mark, they are already independent. The female bears most of the responsibility for raising the young, but the male does take part in feeding them when the mother is absent and also in defending the territory. Due to predation and disease, the red-winged blackbird lives for an average of only about two years in the wild. If it can avoid an early death, it can live a much longer lifespan. The oldest known member of this species lived nearly 16 years.

Population

The IUCN Red List currently estimates that there are 210 million individual red-winged blackbirds alive in the wild today. However, numbers appear to be in decline.