Red-winged Blackbird (Female)

Scientific Name: Agelaius phoeniceux

Category: bird

Red-winged Blackbird (Female)

Brief Description

A medium-sized passerine bird. While males are jet black with red-and-yellow shoulder patches, females like this one are streaky brown and often mistaken for large sparrows.

Characteristics

Stocky bird with a sharply pointed conical bill. Heavily streaked with brown and white; often shows a whitish eyebrow and a pale throat. In certain light, a very faint hint of rust may be visible on the shoulder.

Habitat

Fresh and saltwater marshes, wetlands, and adjacent field or agricultural areas.

When to Find It

Common year-round in much of the U.S.; northern populations migrate south in winter. Most active and vocal during spring and summer breeding seasons.

Conservation Status

Least Concern

Ecological Role

Controls insect populations during the summer and disperses seeds. They are a keystone species in wetland ecosystems and their presence often indicates healthy marshland.

Easily Confused With

Female Brown-headed Cowbirds (plain gray-brown without heavy streaking) and various large sparrows (typically smaller with different bill shapes). Female Red-winged Blackbirds are larger and more heavily streaked than most sparrows.

Observation Tips

Look for them perched on cattails or low shrubs in wetlands. Listen for their harsh 'check' calls. They are often seen in large mixed flocks with starlings and grackles in the winter.

Interesting Facts

Male Red-winged Blackbirds are highly polygynous; a single male may have up to 15 different females nesting in his territory.