For years I’ve been noticing smaller birds like Chickadees, Titmice and Wrens mob larger birds like Crows and Blue Jays, and medium size birds such as Mockingbirds, Blue Jays and Crows mob larger birds like Hawks and Owls if they encroach into their territory. Just the other morning Blue Jays were causing a complete ruckus mobbing a Barred Owl that had flown into my yard and perched on an Oak tree. Recently, however, I have started observing this behavior with Red-winged Blackbirds. The first time I really noticed was while taking photos of Great Egrets in the marsh, suddenly out of nowhere there appeared a RWBL getting ready to swoop down on a Great Egret. The Egret didn’t seem too concerned, but this started me thinking… is this typical?
The second time I saw this behavior was at a recent birding outing with SIB on Ocean Winds Golf course. This time it was a Red-winged Blackbird teaming up with Grackles mobbing an Osprey who was trying to have a peaceful Sunday morning perching on a branch.
It was time to take a deeper dive into the world of Red-winged Blackbirds, a bird we see and hear all over our part of the world, but one I really didn’t know much about.
Described by CornellLab All About Birds, The Red-winged blackbird is a Robin sized passerine bird of between 6-7”. Its diet consists mainly of seeds, corn and insects. They are mostly found in North America and Central America. A stocky, broad-shouldered blackbird with a slender, conical bill and a medium-length tail. Red-winged Blackbirds often show a hump-backed silhouette while perched; males often sit with tail slightly flared.
Audubon Guide to North American Birds describes the Red-winged blackbird as territorial, polygynous, gregarious and a short-distance migratory bird. Its way of flying is characteristic, with rapid wing flaps punctuated by brief periods of gliding flight.
Look for Red-winged Blackbirds in fresh and saltwater marshes, along watercourses, water hazards on golf courses, and wet roadsides, as well as drier meadows and old fields. In winter, you can find them at crop fields, feedlots, and pastures. The male Red-winged Blackbird’s conk-la-ree! is a classic sound of wetlands across the continent. The 1-second song starts with an abrupt note that turns into a musical trill. Males often sing from a high perch while leaning forward, drooping their wings, spreading their tail feathers, and fluffing their bright shoulder patches to show them off. Females give a very different song in response to a singing male, a series of three to five short chit or check notes. Females tend to stay low, prowling through the vegetation and building their nests. They can be found in home gardens, particularly during their migration, if seeds have been scattered on the ground. I see the ladies frequently at my feeder here during the winter months.
Male Red-winged Blackbirds are hard to mistake. They’re an even glossy black with red-and-yellow shoulder badges.
Females can be a little confusing when first observed, resembling large sparrows with various shades of brown streaked with creamy white.
Feeding Behavior
Forages mostly while walking on ground; also sometimes up in shrubs and trees. Outside the breeding season, usually forages in flocks, often associated with other blackbirds and starlings.
Eggs
3-4, rarely 2-6. Pale blue-green, with markings of black, brown, purple concentrated at larger end. Incubation is by female only, 10-12 days.
Young
Both parents feed nestlings (but female does more). Young leave nest about 11-14 days after hatching.
Diet
Mostly insects and seeds. Feeds on many insects, especially in summer, including beetles, caterpillars, grasshoppers, and others; also spiders, millipedes, snails. Majority of adult’s annual diet (roughly three-fourths) is seeds, including those of grasses, weeds, and waste grain. Also eats some berries and small fruits.
Nesting
To defend his territory and attract a mate, male perches on high stalk with feathers fluffed out and tail partly spread, lifts leading edge of wing so that red shoulder patches are prominent, and sings. Also sings in slow, fluttering flight. One male often has more than one mate. Adults are very aggressive in nesting territory, attacking larger birds that approach, and loudly protesting human intruders.
Nest
Placed in marsh growth such as cattails or bulrushes, in bushes or saplings close to water, or in dense grass in fields. Nest (built by female) is bulky open cup, lashed to standing vegetation, made of grass, reeds, leaves, rootlets, lined with fine grass.
Some Fun Facts about Red-winged Blackbirds
- There are at least 22 subspecies of Red-winged Blackbird, most of which look virtually alike
- The Red-winged Blackbird is in the Icteridae family of birds, which also includes Brown-headed Cowbirds, Grackles, and Orioles
- Male Red-winged Blackbirds like to play the field. One male may have up to 15 different females nesting in his territory…
- The longevity record for the Red-winged Blackbird is 15 years and 9 months; this is known from bird banding efforts
- In flight, Red-winged Blackbirds may reach speeds up to 30 miles per hour!!
- The Red-winged Blackbird is one of the most abundant species found in North America
Conservation
Though they may be one of the most abundant native birds on the continent, Red-winged Blackbird populations declined by about 0.72 per year throughout most of their range between 1966 and 2019, resulting in a cumulative estimated decline of 28% according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Partners in Flight estimates a global breeding population of 180 million, down from 190 million in 1974. The species rates an 8 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score, indicating a species of low conservation concern.
Credits
About | Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Red-winged Blackbird | Audubon Field Guide
Birdorable blog
Submitted and photographs: Jennifer Jerome
Male and Female photographs: Audubon
SIB 