Red Winged Black Bird Information

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology website says the red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) is among the most plentiful birds in all of North America, with numbers possibly as high as 200 million, according to the Chipper Woods Bird Observatory website. The birds live in flocks and are easy to spot as they sit and sing on perches like cattails. Their range covers nearly the entire continent.

  1. Identification

    • The typical red-winged blackbird is between nearly 7 inches and 9.1 inches in length, has a wingspan of up to 15.7 inches, and adults weigh between 1.1 and 2.7 ounces. The adult male is all black except for a shoulder patch, or epaulet, that contains bright red with a yellow stripe just below it. This patch is most visible during flight and/or when the male guards his territory. The female is dark brown with many streaks and resembles a large sparrow, with a lighter brown breast and a white streak over the eye. The female lacks the epaulet.

    Geography

    • The range of this species extends from extreme eastern sections of Alaska to northern parts of western Canada, south through Canada and all of America except Hawaii. Many of the birds winter in western Mexico, and some live there all year, as well as in northern Central America.

    Habitat

    • In spring, red-winged blackbirds breed in wetlands such as fresh and saltwater marshes, although some will inhabit dry settings like alfalfa fields. By fall, the bird has taken to residing in flocks and will descend on crop fields, pastures and open grasslands looking for food. Red-winged blackbirds stay all year in much of their range within the United States, but those in extreme northern states and most of Canada head south for winter.

    Behavior

    • The male red-winged blackbird is a common sight in spring sitting high atop a cattail and singing to attract a mate. The birds prefer cattail stands to construct their nests. The bird will join up with huge flocks of grackles, starlings and cowbirds during the winter and might travel as far as 50 miles in one direction to find food before returning to the roost by nightfall.

    Diet

    • In spring and summer, the birds consume large numbers of insects, including cankerworms, caterpillars, grasshoppers, moths and beetles. The birds will switch to a mostly vegetarian diet in fall and winter as insects become scarce. Seeds from plants like sunflowers, ragweed and cocklebur are viable foods, as are berries and waste grains in fields. Red-winged blackbirds will visit bird feeders in large numbers, quickly devouring all of the seed.