How to Identify aRed-winged Blackbird
Agelaius phoeniceus · 6.7–9.1 in (17–23 cm)
Male vs. female
Male
Glossy black with brilliant red shoulder patches bordered by yellow, shown off when displaying.
Female
Dark brown and heavily streaked, like an oversized sparrow, often with a peachy face wash.
Male photo: Chuck Homler, Focus On Wildlife / Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Female photo: OttawaOsprey / Wikimedia, CC BY 4.0
Field marks
- Male red-and-yellow shoulder "epaulets"
- Female dense brown streaking below
- Sharp conical blackbird bill
- Males sing from cattails and reeds
Similar species
What it sounds like
A harsh, gurgling "conk-la-ree!" ending in a trill, given from the top of a cattail.
Behaviour that gives it away
The male covers or exposes his red shoulder patches to signal aggression, and attacks animals far larger than himself.
Habitat & range
Marshes, wet fields, and roadsides across nearly all of North America; visits feeders in flocks.
When you'll see it
Depending on where in North America you are, it is present all year and a summer visitor that arrives to breed.
What it eats
Seeds and grain plus insects, especially in the breeding season.
Did you know?
Among the most abundant birds in North America, males may defend territories holding many nesting females.
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