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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
Red-winged Blackbird
Cool fact: Perhaps the most abundant North American bird, and certainly one of the most studied, is the Red-winged Blackbird, which is also one of the most highly polygynous of all bird species. In northern and northeastern North America, males that have successfully claimed territories mate with 2 or 3 females; in dryer regions, where marsh insects may be more plentiful, the usual ratio is 3 to 6 females per territorial male. Up to 15 females have been observed on the territory of a single male, but the territory owner may not necessarily father all of the young on his territory. Females sometimes mate with several partners during a season or even during a single nesting attempt.
Although they will also nest in hayfields, swamps, and other wet upland habitats, Red-winged Blackbirds are primarily associated with freshwater marshes. This blackbird's breeding range extends from northern Canada to Central America. Some populations in the southern parts of the range are nonmigratory, but almost all northern birds winter in the South, forming huge flocks that migrate by day, foraging for grain and seeds in fields with other blackbirds, and roost at night in dense cover in wetland habitats. In late summer and fall, they may cause damage to crops such as corn, sunflowers, and rice, as they switch from a summer diet of mostly insects. Winter roosts can be huge, especially in major grain-producing areas in California, Washington, the Southeast, and south-central regions of the United States.
In the fall, migrating males leave after the females and are first to return in the spring to set up territories. Males don't breed until they are two years old, and they must secure and defend a territory to mate successfully. Their courtship displays and territorial defenses are identical: they spread their tail and wings, raising their scarlet epaulet feathers, and sing their familiar oak-a-lee song. This display is sometimes given in flight. At other times, the red epaulets remain covered to avoid conflict with other males—for instance, with a trespassing male or if the male is in the early stages of establishing his territory. Red-winged Blackbirds are fierce defenders of their nests, harassing hawks, crows, and other large birds that pass over and escorting human intruders through their territories, hovering close and making angry calls.
Territorial singing subsides in late July or early August as the young leave the nest. At this time, Red-winged Blackbirds start foraging in fields in large flocks separated by gender, although both sexes mix with other foraging blackbirds and starlings. They return in most areas to the marshes to roost for the night. In August, the birds become more secretive and remain hidden in the marshes during the vulnerable time when they undergo a molt prior to migration |
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Your note obviously applies to a different type of bird from that pictured! This is not a common European Blackbird!