Red-winged Blackbird: how to recognise it
A bird of North America. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © Bridget Spencer · CC BY-NC · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Agelaius phoeniceus
- Family
- New World Blackbirds and Orioles
- Size
- About 22 cm
- Habitat
- Marshes and wet fields
- Found in
- North America
The key marks
The male is black with red and yellow shoulder patches; the female is heavily streaked brown and looks like a big sparrow. Common Grackle has a long keel-shaped tail and no shoulder patches.
Voice
A bubbling 'konk-la-REE'.
Good to know
Males defend marsh territories fiercely and sing from cattail stems.
Do not confuse with
Compare it with the Common Grackle. Look at the marks above one by one rather than the overall colour, and practise telling the two apart with real photos.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in marshes and wet fields. It is especially common in Canada, the United States and Texas. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.