(c) Roger Everett
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The Rusty Blackbird is in trouble. Little known and not well studied, the species was only recently discovered to be sharply declining. This oddball among blackbirds desperately needs our immediate conservation attention.
This songbird is 8 to 10 inches long, from the tip of its narrow, pointed bill to the end of its medium-long tail. It weighs approximately 2 ounces. During the breeding season, the male is black with a slight green-blue sheen, while the female is gray. Both have yellow eyes. In fresh, non-breeding plumage, many of the upper body feathers of both sexes are edged in rust, and both have pale eyebrows. Their bills, legs, and feet are black.
The Rusty Blackbird breeds in the wetlands of the far north, from Alaska to the Adirondacks and Newfoundland. It winters in the southeastern portion of North America, where it often mingles with other blackbirds in large flocks.
A legend for the range map to the right can be found here.
Rusty Blackbirds migrate far north during the spring, and settle into mixed forest near water. They prefer bogs, beaver ponds, swamps, and slow streams. Even during migration, the blackbird seeks out wet areas to rest and feed. In winter, this species forages in swamps, wet woodlands, and other moist places.
The Rusty Blackbird is more carnivorous than most blackbirds, particularly on its breeding ground. Grasshoppers are a particular favorite; however, the birds also search the water's edge for invertebrates and tiny fish, sometimes wading in the water as they hunt. When food is hard to come by, the Rusty Blackbird becomes an aggressive predator, occasionally killing sparrows, robins, and on one occasion, a snipe. In winter, the bird eats more vegetable matter, including acorns, fruit, seeds, and waste grains.
This species builds a bulky nest of twigs near water. The female lays 3 to 6 eggs, which she incubates for about 14 days. The young are helpless and almost featherless when they hatch, but are ready to fledge after just 13 days.
Late in the fall, the Rusty Blackbird migrates from the northern wetlands to the southeastern portion of North America, where it often mingles with other blackbirds in large flocks. Early in spring, the birds return north.
Avery, Michael L. 1995. Rusty Blackbird (
Euphagus carolinus). In
The Birds of North America, No. 200 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and the American Ornithologists' Union,Washington, D.C.
Jaramillo, Alvaro & Peter Burke. 1999.
New World Blackbirds -The Icterids. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.
Kaufman, Kenn. 1996.
Lives of North American Birds. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York.
Niven, Daniel K, John R. Sauer, Gregory S. Butcher, & William A. Link. "Christmas Bird Count Provides Insights into Population Change in Land Birds That Breed in the Boreal Forest."
American Birds. The 104
th Christmas Bird Count 2003-2004 Volume 58. P. 10.
