Sleek male Red-winged Blackbird

Red-winged Blackbird Images, Facts and Information

Agelaius phoeniceus

  • Red-winged Blackbirds are a familiar sight throughout most of North America and is considered to be one of the most abundant birds on this continent.
  • Male Red-winged Blackbirds are especially colorful because of their scarlet and yellow shoulder patches that remind some people of epaulets. The streaky brown females are much duller in comparison and to the untrained eye might look like sparrows.
  • Red-winged Blackbirds can be found near fresh and saltwater marshes, lakes, streams, rivers, as well as pastures, crop fields and feedlots. During the summer their diets consists mainly of insects and during the winter they consume seeds including wheat and corn which is why some people consider them pests.
  • In some of their range Red-winged Blackbirds are migratory and in other areas they are year round residents.
  • Each pair of Red-winged Blackbirds can have two to three broods per year. They lay between 3 to 5 eggs which hatch in 11 to 12 days, the female incubates.
  • A group of blackbirds can be called a “cluster” or a “cloud” of blackbirds.
  • Red-winged Blackbirds can live to be more than 15 years old.

I hope you enjoy viewing my Red-winged Blackbird photos.