Rusty Grackle; Rusty Blackbird (Scolecophagus carolinus) | Affiliated Manuscripts | Further Data

Occurrence in Amherst & Connecticut Valley, Mass.
C19

A rare but regular migrant in March and April and again in September and October

March - April

September - October

C20

Transient, common in wet places in early spring and sometimes abundant in early May; and in autumn very common, with other blackbirds, both in swamps and on cornfields. —Bagg & Eliot

March - December

C21

Occasional summer resident and common transient. Arrives March–April; departs September, peaking in mid-October, with some overwintering. —Mass Audubon

March - October

Habitat
river groves, wooded swamps, muskeg
Nest Materials
twigs, coarse and fine grasses, Usnea lichens, decaying plant matter from the forest floor
19th-20th Century Field Notes
RUSTY GRACKLE , OR BLACKBIRD . MALE , in full plumage : Black with green metallic reflections ; iris , creamy . FEMALE AND YOUNG : Slaty - blackish , duller beneath ; iris , brown . Both sexes ordinarily with the feathers edged with rusty , especially in fall . Length , 9 _ 9 1 - 2 inches . A rare but regular migrant . Earliest arrival , March 15 , 1886 ; seen again in October . Feeds on insects . Beneficial . Notes , feeble .

—H.L. Clark, 1887

21st Century Conservation Notes

Vulnerable*