Red-winged Blackbird

Agelaius phoeniceus · Blackbirds & Orioles

Red-winged Blackbird, male

San Diego, 6 March 2026

A male Red-winged Blackbird side-on, the red shoulder patch bordered by a thin band of yellow that is often the only part visible when the patch is held closed against the body. The epaulet is the whole argument: a male whose red is painted over loses his territory within days, and a male with a bigger patch holds a bigger one. Among the most abundant land birds in North America, though marsh-bound enough to be an occasional sight in a city.

Red-winged Blackbird, male

San Diego, 6 March 2026

A male Red-winged Blackbird side-on in a Californian marsh in March, the red shoulder patch bordered by a thin band of yellow that is often the only part visible when the patch is held closed. Red-wings are marsh birds across the whole continent, and in the West many stay on territory all year.

The epaulet is the whole argument: a male whose red is painted over loses his territory within days, and a male with a bigger patch holds a bigger one. Among the most abundant land birds in North America, though marsh-bound enough to be an occasional sight in a city.

Red-winged Blackbird, female

Prospect Park, 14 December 2025

A female Red-winged Blackbird working a sweetgum seed ball under a crust of snow in Prospect Park in December. Red-wings are marsh birds across the whole continent, and most leave New York for the winter; this one is staying, on seed.

Female Red-winged Blackbirds look nothing like the glossy black, red-shouldered male: heavily streaked brown and buff, closer in pattern to a large sparrow, which leads to more than a few misidentifications every winter. The species is among the most abundant land birds in North America, and one of the earliest to return and sing on territory each spring.