Red-Winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

Few wetland birds announce themselves with the confidence of a Red-winged Blackbird. Males cling to cattails, spread their scarlet shoulder patches, and deliver their unmistakable song across the marsh.

The glossy male may be easy to recognize, but the streaky female often causes confusion. She looks so different that many beginning birders mistake her for a large sparrow. Together, they form one of North America’s most familiar—and surprisingly complicated—bird species.

Quick Facts

Common Name	Red-winged Blackbird
Scientific name	Agelaius phoeniceus
Family	Icteridae
Length	6.7–9.1 inches (17–23 centimeters)
Wingspan	12.2–15.8 inches (31–40 centimeters)
Diet	Seeds, grains, insects, spiders, snails, and small fruits
Habitat	Marshes, wet fields, roadside ditches, pastures, and agricultural areas
Range	Most of North America and portions of Central America
Conservation status	Least Concern

Description

Red-winged Blackbirds are sturdy, broad-shouldered songbirds with pointed bills and medium-length tails. They are about the size of an American Robin, although males can appear larger when they puff their feathers during territorial displays.

Males and females look dramatically different. This strong difference between the sexes is known as sexual dimorphism.

Male Red-Winged Blackbird

Adult males are glossy black with bright red shoulder patches called epaulets. A yellow or buff border usually appears beneath each red patch.

The male can partially conceal these colors while resting. When singing, displaying, or confronting another bird, he raises his wings and fluffs the feathers to make the red patches appear larger.

Nonbreeding males may look slightly duller or scaly. Their shoulder patches may also appear less complete than those of breeding males.

Female Red-Winged Blackbird

Females look more like oversized sparrows than blackbirds. Their feathers are dark brown with heavy cream or buff streaking across the breast, belly, back, and head.

Look for a long, pointed bill, broad shoulders, dark streaking, and a pale eyebrow. Some females also show rusty coloring around the face and shoulders.

Their streaked plumage provides excellent camouflage while they move among reeds and care for nests.

Juvenile Red-Winged Blackbird

Juveniles resemble females. Young males gradually develop darker feathers and traces of red on the shoulders as they mature.

A young male may appear mottled brown and black before gaining the solid black plumage of an adult.

How to Identify a Red-Winged Blackbird

Male Red-winged Blackbirds are usually unmistakable. Look for these features:

• Glossy black plumage
• Scarlet shoulder patches
• Yellow or buff bars below the red patches
• A pointed, cone-shaped bill
• A bold posture on an exposed perch

Females require a closer look. They are larger and darker than most sparrows, with longer bills and heavier streaking. They frequently forage near water or disappear into dense wetland vegetation.

Song and Calls

The male’s song is often described as “conk-la-ree!” or “o-ka-leeee!” It begins with a few short notes and ends with a rough, bubbling trill.

Males commonly sing from cattails, fence posts, shrubs, power lines, and other exposed perches. They spread their wings and display their red shoulder patches while singing.

Both sexes also produce a sharp “check” call. Other sounds include whistles, chatters, and rapid alarm notes.

Habitat and Range

Red-winged Blackbirds thrive wherever open ground meets dense vegetation. Freshwater marshes are classic habitat, especially those filled with cattails, reeds, or bulrushes.

They also occupy salt marshes, wet meadows, brushy swamps, hayfields, pastures, roadside drainage ditches, golf-course ponds, and agricultural areas. Dense, upright plants provide nesting support and hiding places for females and young birds.

Across much of Texas, Red-winged Blackbirds are year-round residents. Their numbers often increase during winter when birds from colder northern regions move south. Along the Texas Gulf Coast, they are common around marshes, wet pastures, rice fields, retention ponds, and overgrown roadside ditches.

Diet and Feeding

Red-winged Blackbirds are omnivores, although their diet changes with the season.

During spring and summer, they eat beetles, grasshoppers, caterpillars, spiders, snails, millipedes, and other invertebrates. Protein-rich prey is especially important while adults are feeding growing nestlings.

Seeds make up most of the adult diet across the year. Red-winged Blackbirds consume weed seeds, grass seeds, rice, corn, and other grains. They may also eat berries and small fruits.

Most feeding occurs on the ground. The birds walk through short vegetation, muddy shorelines, pastures, and farm fields while searching for food. They may also cling to plants or forage among shrubs.

During winter, they often feed in enormous mixed flocks alongside grackles, cowbirds, and European Starlings.

Behavior

Male Red-winged Blackbirds are noisy, visible, and fiercely territorial during the breeding season. A male frequently patrols his territory from a high perch, singing and displaying his red shoulders.

He chases competing males and confronts potential predators. Red-winged Blackbirds may mob hawks, crows, herons, and other large birds that enter their nesting area. Bold males occasionally dive toward horses, dogs, and people who wander too close.

Females behave more quietly. They spend much of their time low among the vegetation, gathering food or nest material. Both parents may defend the nest, but the female handles most nesting duties.

Outside the breeding season, their territorial behavior disappears. The birds gather into large flocks that may contain thousands—or even millions—of blackbirds and starlings.

Courtship and Mating

During courtship, a male raises his wings, spreads his tail, fluffs his feathers, and exposes his red epaulets. He may sing from an upright cattail or perform a slow, fluttering display flight.

Red-winged Blackbirds have a polygynous mating system. One male may have several females nesting within his territory. In especially productive habitat, a territory can contain five or more females, with exceptional males attracting as many as 15.

Territory ownership does not guarantee fatherhood. Genetic studies have found that many nestlings are fathered by males from neighboring territories. The social life of a cattail marsh is apparently a bit more dramatic than it looks.

Nesting and Life History

The female chooses the nest site and builds the nest. Common locations include cattails, bulrushes, marsh grasses, shrubs, or small saplings near water.

She weaves grasses, leaves, reeds, and rootlets around several upright stems. The finished nest forms a deep, open cup suspended above shallow water or hidden within dense vegetation.

A typical clutch contains three or four pale blue-green eggs marked with dark brown, black, or purple lines. Clutches may occasionally contain two to six eggs.

The female incubates the eggs for approximately 10 to 12 days. Both parents feed the nestlings, although the female performs most of the work.

Young Red-winged Blackbirds leave the nest around 11 to 14 days after hatching. At that age, they may still depend on nearby adults while they strengthen their flight skills and learn to forage.

Conservation Status

The Red-winged Blackbird is classified as Least Concern and remains one of North America’s most numerous native birds. The global breeding population has been estimated at roughly 180 million individuals.

However, abundance should not be mistaken for invulnerability. Breeding Bird Survey data summarized through 2019 indicated an estimated population decline of about 28 percent since 1966.

Wetland drainage, habitat conversion, mowing during the nesting season, and changes in agricultural practices can reduce suitable breeding habitat. Research has shown that cutting occupied hayfields may cause adults to abandon their territories within days.

Protecting marsh vegetation, wet meadows, and unmowed field edges benefits Red-winged Blackbirds and many less-common wetland species.

Fun Facts

• The bright red shoulder patch is called an epaulet, after the decorative shoulder piece once worn on military uniforms.
• A male can hide much of his red coloring beneath black feathers.
• Males may spend more than one-quarter of their daylight hours defending a breeding territory.
• Winter roosts can contain several million birds.
• Birds may travel up to 50 miles from a winter roost to reach feeding areas.
• Red-winged Blackbirds sometimes attack animals much larger than themselves.
• One male may have as many as 15 females nesting inside his territory.
• The oldest recorded Red-winged Blackbird lived at least 15 years and 9 months.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Red-winged Blackbirds aggressive?

They can be extremely defensive near active nests. Males may dive toward people, pets, and large birds that enter their territories. These attacks are intended to drive intruders away rather than cause serious injury.

Why does the female look like a sparrow?

Female Red-winged Blackbirds have streaked brown plumage that helps conceal them among grasses and reeds. This camouflage is useful while they build nests, incubate eggs, and care for young.

Do Red-winged Blackbirds visit feeders?

They sometimes visit yards for mixed grains and seeds, particularly during migration or winter. They prefer feeding on or near the ground rather than clinging to small hanging feeders.

Are Red-winged Blackbirds migratory?

Some populations migrate, while others remain in the same region throughout the year. Birds living in northern areas generally move south for winter. Texas has resident breeding birds as well as additional winter visitors.

Where do Red-winged Blackbirds sleep?

They commonly roost in marsh vegetation, fields, shrubs, or trees. Outside the breeding season, many gather in enormous communal roosts with other blackbirds and starlings.

What is the red patch on a Red-winged Blackbird called?

The patch is called an epaulet. Most males have a red patch bordered by yellow or buff feathers.

Do female Red-winged Blackbirds have red wings?

Females usually lack the male’s brilliant scarlet patches. Some may show subtle rusty or reddish coloring around the shoulders, face, or wings.

Naturalist’s Note

Red-winged Blackbirds are so common that they can become part of the background. Their calls blend into the sounds of frogs, insects, wind, and moving water.

Then a male lands on a cattail.

He leans forward, spreads his wings, flashes those fiery shoulders, and sends his rough song rolling across the marsh. Suddenly, an ordinary roadside wetland feels like a stage.

The females deserve a closer look, too. Their streaked feathers may lack the male’s theatrical color, but their camouflage is beautifully suited to life among reeds. Finding one quietly carrying nesting material can be more rewarding than spotting the loud male advertising himself from the tallest plant available.

Similar Species

• Great-Tailed Grackle: Male Great-tailed Grackles are larger, shinier, and much longer-tailed. They have pale yellow eyes and lack red shoulder patches. Females are warm brown rather than heavily streaked.
• Common Grackle: Common Grackles are larger and longer than Red-winged Blackbirds. Adult males have iridescent heads, pale eyes, and long tails but no red epaulets.
• Brown-Headed Cowbird: Male Brown-headed Cowbirds have chocolate-brown heads and black bodies. Females are plain gray-brown without the strong streaking of a female Red-winged Blackbird.
• Yellow-Headed Blackbird: Adult males have brilliant yellow heads and chests against black bodies. Females are brown with dull yellow around the face and breast. Yellow-headed Blackbirds are generally less common along the Gulf Coast and are most likely during migration or winter.
• Song Sparrow: Song Sparrows are smaller, with shorter tails and shorter, thicker bills. Many show a central dark spot on the breast. Female Red-winged Blackbirds are larger, darker, and more heavily streaked.