The Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) is a passerine bird of the family Icteridae found in most of North and much of Central America. the male is all black with a red shoulder and yellow wing bar, while the female is a nondescript dark brown. Seeds and insects make up the bulk of the Red-winged Blackbird's diet. The common name for the Red-winged Blackbird is taken from the mainly black adult male's distinctive red shoulder patches, or "epaulets", which are visible when the bird is flying or displaying. At rest, the male also shows a pale yellow wingbar. The female is blackish-brown and paler below. Young birds resemble the female, but are paler below and have buff feather fringes.The eyes, bill, and feet are all black.
The call of the Red-winged Blackbird is a throaty check and a high slurred whistle, terrr-eeee. The male's song is a scratchy oak-a-lee, accompanied by a display of his red shoulder patches. The female also sings, typically a scolding chatter chit chit chit chit chit chit cheer teer teer teerr.
The Red-winged Blackbird inhabits open grassy areas. It generally prefers wetlands, and inhabits both freshwater and saltwater marshes, particularly if cattails are present. It is also found in dry upland areas, where it inhabits meadows, prairies, and old fields. It prefers insects, such as dragonflies, damselflies, butterflies, moths, and flies, but also consumes snails, frogs, eggs, carrion, worms, spiders, mollusks. The Red-winged Blackbird forages for insects by picking them from plants, or by catching them in flight.In season, it eats blueberries, blackberries, and other fruit. These birds can be lured to backyard bird feeders by bread and seed mixtures and suet. In late summer and in autumn, the Red-winged Blackbird will feed in open fields, mixed with grackles, cowbirds, and starlings in flocks which can number in the thousands. (text excerpts from Wikipedia.org)
