Red-winged Blackbird - Dickinson's Birds

Occurrence in Amherst & Connecticut Valley, Mass.

C19

Common summer resident

March - October

C20

Common summer resident, occasional in winter. Arrives February, departs November–December. —Bagg & Eliot

February - December

C21

Early harbingers of spring; common summer residents. Arrives mid-March–early April; departs late August–early November. —Mass Audubon

March - November

Habitat

marshes, swamps, wet and dry meadows, pastures

Nest Materials

grass, reeds, leaves, rootlets

19th-20th Century Field Notes

RED - WINGED BLACKBIRD . ADULT MALE : Black ; lesser wing coverts , bright scarlet ; middle coverts , buff . FEMALE AND YOUNG : Above , blackish - brown with pale streaks ; beneath , whitish , streaked with dusky ; chin and bend of wing , tinged with reddish . Length of male about 9 inches ; of female , under 8 inches . Common summer resident . Earliest arrival , March 11th ; departs in October . Raises 2 broods . Eggs 3 - 5 , pale greenish or bluish , spotted and streaked with dark brown and black . Nest of grass , rushes , leaves , etc . , in low bushes or on the ground ; rarely , pensile among " cat - tails . ” Eggs laid last of May and early in July . Feeds on insects , seeds , grain , etc . Beneficial . Note , a loud , creaking sound .

—H.L. Clark, 1887

21st Century Conservation Notes

Least concern*