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Rusty Blackbird

Euphagus carolinusOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Blackbirds and Orioles (Icteridae)

Rusty Blackbird Breeding Adult Portrait
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General

Rusty Blackbird: Medium-sized blackbird, black overall with a dull, blue-green sheen, and yellow eyes. Female is dark gray with faint, darker scaling and has paler throat and dark eye patch. Winter male is dull black with rust-brown bars. Winter female is rust-brown with gray rump and dark eye patch. Juvenile resembles winter female. Rust-brown feather tips wear off to create darker spring plumage.

Range and Habitat

Rusty Blackbird: Breeds from Alaska across northern Canada to southern Canada, northern New York, and northern New England. Spends winters from southeastern South Dakota and southern New England south to the Gulf Coast. Preferred habitats include beaver ponds, roadsides, landfills, wet meadows, and shrubby shorelines.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"koo-a-lee-m-eek, koo-a-lee-eek", "chuck"

Interesting Facts

 The Rusty Blackbird has been documented feeding on sparrows, robins, and snipe, among others.

 Their song has been compared to the grating of a rusty hinge.

 The North American Breeding Bird Survey and Christmas Bird Count have determined that Rusty Blackbirds have dropped 85%-98% in the past 40 years.

 A group of blackbirds has many collective nouns, including a "cloud", "cluster", and "merl" of blackbirds.



Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Rusty Blackbird
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family Orioles and Blackbirds (Icteridae)_blue
Species Euphagus carolinus
Length8.25 - 9.75 Inches
Wingspan14 Inches

Rusty Blackbird

Rusty Blackbird: Medium blackbird, black overall with a dull, blue-green sheen, yellow eyes. Forages on ground of wet woodlands and fields, wades in marshes or small pools of water. Feeds on insects, caterpillars, snails, crustaceans, small fish, salamanders, fruits, grains and seeds.

● Song: "koo-a-lee-m-eek, koo-a-lee-eek", "chuck"

● Foraging & Feeding: Rusty Blackbird: Feeds on insects, snails, small fish, waste grain, and seeds; walks on the ground while foraging.

● Breeding & nesting: Rusty Blackbird: Four to five pale blue-green eggs with brown and gray splotches are laid in a bulky nest woven from twigs and lichens with an inner cup of mud and grass. Eggs are incubated for 14 days by the female.

● Similar species: Rusty Blackbird: Brewer's Blackbird has whiter eyes and glossier plumage; female has dark eyes.

Flight Pattern

Strong direct flight with deep rapid wing beats.
Rusty Blackbird Breeding Adult Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Rusty Blackbird: Breeds from Alaska across northern Canada to southern Canada, northern New York, and northern New England. Spends winters from southeastern South Dakota and southern New England south to the Gulf Coast. Preferred habitats include beaver ponds, roadsides, landfills, wet meadows, and shrubby shorelines.
BreedingMonogamous, Pairs
PopulationFairly common
MigrationMigratory
Weight2.3 Ounces