Red-winged Blackbirds nest in loose colonies in both fresh- and salt-water marshes. Females are more likely to be seen on the ground, foraging, and gathering nesting material. This means that even within the same species, birds with the same plumage flock together, apart from the rest!ĭuring breeding season, males perch high atop cattails and reeds, singing loudly while flashing their bright red epaulets. Males migrate before females in the spring, and after them in the fall. This time of year, when our resident population is joined by migrants from up north, identification is made even more difficult because males and females tend to flock separately. They look like an entirely different species, and for that reason are often confused with sparrows. Females are much smaller, brown, and heavily streaked, with a noticeable whitish eyebrow. Males are glossy black all over, and easily recognized by their large, bright red and yellow shoulder patches (or epaulets) – the older and more experienced the bird, the more impressive the wing patches. Males and females of this species are dimorphic, meaning they look different from each other. Another behavior helpful in identification can be seen as flocks are landing: as the birds in the front light, the birds in the back fly over them to land in the front, creating a leap-frog effect. In smaller flocks, Red-winged Blackbirds can be recognized by their distinctive undulating flight pattern, with rapid wing beats interspersed with short glides. After coming down to roost overnight, these huge flocks spread out as far as 50 miles foraging before rejoining the other members in the evening. In this amazing spectacle, thousands of blackbirds fly en masse in perfect synchronization, creating swirling, shape-shifting black clouds in the sky. In fact, their genus name Agelaius derives from the Greek word meaning “belonging to a flock.” If you’ve been out just before dusk recently, you may have witnessed a mesmerizing flocking behavior known as a murmuration. Red-winged Blackbirds are normally seen traveling together in large flocks. Let’s take a closer look at this fascinating species, and I’ll show you what I mean. You know the old saying, “Birds of a feather flock together,” right? We usually think it refers to birds of the same species staying together, but in the case of Red-winged Blackbirds, it’s even more accurate.
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