Rusty Blackbird
Euphagus carolinus
Rusty edges to feathers and pale eyebrow in winter contrast with blackish feather bases. Breeding males are glossy black. Shorter tail than Common Grackle. Thinner bill than Red-winged Blackbird. Found in wooded swamps. Often in flocks; frequently mixes with Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackle in winter. Look for flocks perched at tops of trees bordering marshes and listen for their calls to help pick them out from large flocks of blackbirds.
Identification
Adults have a pointed bill and a pale yellow eye. They have black plumage with faint green and purple gloss; the female is greyer. "Rusty" refers to the brownish winter plumage. They resemble the western member of the same genus, the Brewer's blackbird; however, Brewer's has a longer bill and the male's head is iridescent green.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Euphagus carolinus
- Authority
- (Müller, PLS, 1776)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Icteridae
- Genus
- Euphagus
Range and habitat
Their breeding habitat is wet temperate coniferous forests and muskeg across Canada, New England, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the Adirondack Mountains in New York and Alaska. Birds usually nest at the edge of ponds and wetlands with the cup nest located in a tree or dense shrub, often over the water. Emerging dragonflies and their larvae are important food items during the summer.<p>These birds migrate to the eastern and southeastern United States, into parts of the Grain Belt, sometimes straying into Mexico. Additional vagrants have been reported inn Greenland and Russian Siberia.
- Breeding range
- NA : n
- Non-breeding range
- se USA
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
They forage on wet ground or in shallow water, mainly eating insects, small fish and some seeds. Their most common mode of foraging is to vigorously flip leaves and rip at submerged aquatic vegetation. The mast of small-acorn producing oaks, such as willow oak, is also important. In some areas, the nuts of planted pecans are heavily used. They very rarely will attack small passerine birds, and have been known to kill species as large as the Wilson's snipe. They feed in flocks during migration and on the wintering grounds, sometimes joining other blackbirds, both often occurring in single species flocks. They more often roost with other blackbirds; some small roosts are in brushy vegetation in old fields and others are in massive mixed flocks—sometimes in the urban areas.<p>The species nests relatively early for a boreal forest bird. They linger in the boreal zone to complete their molt. Their autumn migration is slow, with birds often remaining in the northern states well into December; spring migration is much more rapid. The largest wintering concentrations are found in the lower Mississippi Valley, with smaller concentrations in the Piedmont and south Atlantic coastal plain.<p>Fairly quiet in fall migration and most of the winter, both males and females will sing (particularly on warm days) in the late winter and spring. The song consists of gurgling and high-pitched squeaks.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Spangled Cotinga
Cotinga cayana
Compact, medium-sized bird of rainforest canopy; often seen at fruiting trees or perched atop bare snags. Male plumage is stunning in good light but can appear blackish otherwise. Feeds on fruit and often commutes long distances between food sources. In western Amazonia, compare to Plum-throated Cotinga; note male Spangled’s more extensive black markings, including tail. Females recognizable by small, rounded head and scalloped plumage; both sexes have dark (not yellow) eyes.
Black-fronted Tyrannulet
Phylloscartes nigrifrons
Small flycatcher of humid tepui forests. Best field marks are grizzled black-and-white face, dark lores, and gray crown. Also note clean grayish-white underparts. Found in forests at middle and higher elevations (above 800 m) on tepui slopes, where it typically occurs in pairs and forages actively for insects, often joining mixed-species flocks. Generally gives only indistinct chip notes while foraging, but may also give an arresting, staccato rattle very unlike other birds in range. Most likely to be confused with the more common Chapman’s Bristle-Tyrant but has conspicuously dark lores and a gray crown and lacks yellow tones on breast and belly.
Blond-crested Woodpecker
Celeus flavescens
Fairly large and strikingly-plumaged woodpecker with a yellow-crested head contrasting with a largely black body which is variably scaled with yellow spots depending on the subspecies, and a yellow rump. Males have a red moustache. Found in both wet and dry forests, usually avoiding the interior, and in wooded savannas.
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