Red-winged Blackbird
Agelaius phoeniceus
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderPasseriformes
- FamilyIcteridae (Ictèrids)
- GenusAgelaius (Agelaius Blackbirds)
- SpeciesAgelaius phoeniceus (Red-winged Blackbird)
The red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) is a passerine bird of the family Icteridae found in most of North America and much of Central America. It breeds from Alaska and Newfoundland south to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, and Guatemala, with isolated populations in western El Salvador, northwestern Honduras, and northwestern Costa Rica. It may winter as far north as Pennsylvania and British Columbia, but northern populations are generally migratory, moving south to Mexico and the Southern United States. Claims have been made that it is the most abundant living land bird in North America, as bird-counting censuses of wintering red-winged blackbirds sometimes show that loose flocks can number in excess of a million birds per flock and the full number of breeding pairs across North and Central America may exceed 250 million in peak years. It also ranks among the best-studied wild bird species in the world. The red-winged blackbird is sexually dimorphic; the male is all black with a red shoulder and yellow wing bar, while the female is a nondescript dark brown. Wikipedia →
40–50% of wildlife watchers report a Red-winged Blackbird sighting in Voyageurs National Park, based on 117 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Voyageurs National Park
Common Grackle
Quiscalus quiscula
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus
Brown-headed Cowbird
Molothrus ater
Baltimore Oriole
Icterus galbula
Rusty Blackbird
Euphagus carolinus
Blue Jay
Cyanocitta cristata
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Setophaga coronata
American Crow
Corvus brachyrhynchos
Black-capped Chickadee
Poecile atricapillus
Red-eyed Vireo
Vireo olivaceus
White-throated Sparrow
Zonotrichia albicollis
American Robin
Turdus migratorius
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Red-winged Blackbird in Voyageurs National Park?
About 42% of wildlife watchers report a Red-winged Blackbird sighting in Voyageurs National Park, based on 117 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Red-winged Blackbird in Voyageurs National Park?
May has the highest sighting rate for Red-winged Blackbird in Voyageurs National Park in our monthly data.