Red Wing Blackbird

Description

The red wing blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus, sports distinctive red shoulder patches with a pale yellow wingbar below each epalulet.

Its distinctive characteristic coloring and its frequent association with healthy aquatic environments make this bird a welcome addition to any natural setting and a favorite of outdoor enthusiasts.

Habitat and Habits

An abundant migratory species, the red wing blackbird prefers wetland-type conditions throughout North America, especially if cattails are present.

Red wings migrate relatively short distances. Although summer flocks are small, winter flocks can number in the millions.  A group of blackbirds is known as a cloud, cluster, or merl .

The pair makes a new nest for each brood, and they can have several each season.  Highly polygamous and territorial, the male will fiercely defend against nest predators, including large mammals – and even people.

The males are approximately nine inches long; the females seven. Red wing blackbirds are known to live over 15 years.

Sounds

While calls are described as a single short “check”: chuck, chat, chit, chip, or chat, the red-wing blackbird song has been characterized similarly as: “konk la ree,”  “conk la lee,” “conk a ree” (Thoreau) or “o ka lee” (Emerson), “kong quer ree,” “gl oogl eee,”  and “gug lug geee.”  Matthews (1904) notes that all descriptions agree on two points: three syllables and a repetition of the vowel  e  in the last syllable. Matthews represents the steady rhythm as Gug’ lug’ gee-e-e-e-e-e-e, with the e indicating a sustained tone. Although the written song is relatively plain (See below) with little accuracy of pitch  (sometimes pardonably flat and sometime distressingly sharp!),  Matthews describes the sound as “gurgling” like a brook: a welcome and joyous announcement that spring is at hand.

Several excellent websites hold extensive collections of superb audio files. To hear the red wing blackbird, visit

1. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-winged_Blackbird/sounds (by Cornell Ornithology)
2. http://www.arkive.org/red-winged-blackbird/agelaius-phoeniceus/video-00.html (Wildscreen Archive)
3. http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/184/articles/introduction (Online source for Yasukawa, K. and Searcy, W.A. (1995) Red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus). In: Poole, A. (Ed.) The Birds of North America Online. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca:       (See left side bar on main web page.)
4. http://earbirding.com/blog/archives/3849 (acoustics by Nathan Pieplow)
5. http://www.hbw.com/ibc/sound/red-winged-blackbird-agelaius-phoeniceus/red-winged-black-bird-song
6. https://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/spring/RedwingDictionary.html (Anneberg Learner, Journey North)
7. https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/94266 (through Cornell Ornithology)
8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3QicOAiBXk (from Music of Nature by Elliot Lang)
9. http://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Agelaius-phoeniceus (456 foreground recordings and 1786 background recordings)

Products

Visit the Avian Note Art collection at Watershed Wildlife Designs (watershedwildlifedesigns.com) to find these red wing blackbird designs on a wide variety of items, such as:

blankets, pillows, totes, shower curtains, shirts, hoodies, mugs, greeting cards, aprons, cutting boards, potholders, phone and ipad covers. And more!

Gifts for birdwatchers, friends, and family!