Breeds in wet forests, including areas with fens, bogs, muskeg, and beaver ponds. Winters in swamps, wet woodlands, and pond edges.Back to top
In summer, mostly insects; in winter, acorns, pine seeds, and fruit.Back to top
Bulky bowl with an outer layer of twigs, grass, and lichens. Wet, rotting plant matter is placed in this outer layer, then dries and hardens. Placed in trees and shrubs, near water.
|Clutch Size:||3-6 eggs|
|Egg Description:||Blue-green to pale gray, with variable amount of brown markings.|
|Condition at Hatching:||Helpless with sparse down.|
Forages on ground, often in flocks. Wades in water. Flips over leaves and twigs.Back to top
The Rusty Blackbird has undergone one of the sharpest and most mystifying recent declines of any North American songbird. The North American Breeding Bird Survey estimates that populations declined by 4.4% every year between 1966 and 2014, resulting in a cumulative decline of 89%. Partners in Flight estimates a global breeding population of 5 million, with 100% spending some part of the year in the U.S., and 86% breeding in Canada. The species rates a 21 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score. Rusty Blackbird is listed as a Common Bird in Steep Decline on the 2014 State of the Birds Report. Low densities and remote breeding habitat (in the boreal forests of the far north) make clear determination of trends difficult. Scientists have formed the Rusty Blackbird Working Group, which tries to get a better handle on populations by organizing birders to look for and report Rusty Blackbirds during specific dates during the year, particularly spring migration. It's not clear what has caused the population declines, but loss of wet woodland habitat through drainage, clearcutting, and conversion to agriculture is a possibility—particularly in the southeastern U.S. where some 80 percent of the population winters. The historically severe hunting of beavers across North America may also have reduced habitat for Rusty Blackbirds by reducing the number of beaver ponds; the resurgence of beaver populations may be restoring some of this habitat. Rusty Blackbirds from northeastern North America have been recorded with unusually high mercury contamination and could be contributing to their decline in this region.Back to top
Avery, Michael L. 2013. Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus), version 2.0. In The Birds of North America (P. G. Rodewald, editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, USA.
Lutmerding, J. A. and A. S. Love. Longevity records of North American birds. Version 2015.2. Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Bird Banding Laboratory 2015.
North American Bird Conservation Initiative. 2014. The State of the Birds 2014 Report. US Department of Interior, Washington, DC, USA.
Partners in Flight (2017). Avian Conservation Assessment Database. 2017.
Sauer, J. R., J. E. Hines, J. E. Fallon, K. L. Pardieck, Jr. Ziolkowski, D. J. and W. A. Link. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, results and analysis 1966-2013 (Version 1.30.15). USGS Patuxtent Wildlife Research Center 2014b. Available from http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/.
Sibley, D. A. (2014). The Sibley guide to birds, second edition. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, USA.