About the Red-winged Blackbird
The red-winged blackbird is a passerine bird of the family Icteridae found in most of North America and much of Central America. It breeds from Alaska and Newfoundland south to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, and Guatemala, with isolated populations in western El Salvador, northwestern Honduras, and northwestern Costa Rica. It may winter as far north as Pennsylvania and British Columbia, but northern populations are generally migratory, moving south to Mexico and the Southern United States.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
ID tip
The common name for the red-winged blackbird is taken from the mainly black adult male's distinctive red shoulder patches, or epaulets, which are visible when the bird is flying or displaying. At rest, the male also shows a pale yellow wingbar. The spots of males less than one year old, generally subordinate, are smaller and more orange than those of adults. The female is blackish-brown and paler below. The female is smaller than the male, at 17–18 cm (6.7–7.1 in) long and weighing 41.5 g (1.46 oz), against his length of 22–24 cm (8.7–9.4 in) and weight of 64 g (2.3 oz). Voice: The calls of the red-winged blackbird are a throaty check and a high slurred whistle, terrr-eeee. The male's song, accompanied by a display of his red shoulder patches, is a scratchy oak-a-lee, except that in many western birds, including bicolored blackbirds, it is ooPREEEEEom. The female also sings, typically a scolding chatter chit chit chit chit chit chit cheer teer teer teerr.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
What the Red-winged Blackbird sounds like
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in United Kingdom.
When to see it
Peak activity in May · a variable species across most of its range
Easily confused with
Tricolored BlackbirdAgelaius tricolorThe tricolored blackbird is a passerine bird of the family Icteridae.
Tawny-shouldered BlackbirdAgelaius humeralisThe tawny-shouldered blackbird is 19 to 22 cm (7.5 to 8.7 in) long.
Yellow-shouldered BlackbirdAgelaius xanthomusThe yellow-shouldered blackbird, as its name implies, is a glossy black bird with a small yellow humeral patch around its "shoulders" outlined by a white margin.
Learn the Red-winged Blackbird for real
BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.
Play BeakBrainEvery photo and recording on this page is credited to its author under the licence shown. Spotted a problem with this page, or have a better photo? Contribute.