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Home > Red-Winged Blackbird
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Red-Winged Blackbird
Description: The Red-Winged Blackbird is native to North America. Its range extends from southern Alaska to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, reaching from the Pacific coast to the eastern seaboard. Northern populations migrate to the southern United States and Central America in late summer and early fall. Red-Winged Blackbirds defend their territory aggressively. A group of blackbirds has many collective nouns, including a "cloud", "cluster", and "merl" of blackbirds.
Other Names: Golden Robin, Northern Oriole (a cross between the Baltimore Oriole and Bullock’s Oriole, a western species).
Color: Males in breeding plumage are very familiar birds to many people. They are solid black, with red wing-patches. Each patch has a light yellow stripe below, and can be displayed in varying amounts. Red-Winged Blackbirds have long, blackbird bills typical of the species. The female is brownish-black above, heavily streaked with white, gray and rust. She's similar below, but with lighter colors predominating. She has a light line over her eye, a light medial stripe on the crown, and usually a few reddish feathers on her wings. The striped female looks strikingly different than the male and could almost be mistaken for a sparrow.
Sound: The gurgling “o-ka-ree-a” call of the male Red-Winged Blackbird is an important tool in defending his territory against rivals.
Preferred Environment: The Red-Winged Blackbird prefers marshes, rice paddies, sedge meadows, alfalfa fields, and other cropland but will nest near any body of water.
Nesting Habits: Back from migration, the male takes up his post on a willow or poplar tree. He sings as he awaits the arrival of the females three to four weeks later. When she arrives, she constructs the nest in bushes or reeds over or near water, using coarse grass and reeds and lining it with fine grass. Each pair of Red-winged Blackbirds raises 2-3 broods per season and each time they build a new nest keeping the nest from becoming infected with parasites.
Food Preference: In nature, most of the annual Red-winged Blackbird diet is seeds. They also eat insects, especially dragonflies, mayflies, and caddis flies as they emerge from their aquatic larval stage. At the feeder, Red-Winged Blackbirds feed on sunflower, corn and millet.
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How to Attract Red-Winged Blackbirds
The red-winged blackbird has often been called the most numerous bird in North America. It is found in every state, nesting near streams, lakes, swamps, sloughs and in fields and is the most numerous in summer and in winter.
The red-wings frequent feeders, especially tube seed feeders and platform feeders. They like grains and seeds, especially corn and sunflower seeds and also eat insects and spiders. Blackbirds often group with flocks of cowbirds and often with grackles.
Suggested Red-Winged Blackbird Feeders
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