Agelaius phoeniceus (Red-And-Buff-Shouldered Blackbird)

Common Names

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Common Names in English:

Bicolored Blackbird, Marsh Blackbird, Red-And-Buff-Shouldered Blackbird, Red-Shouldered Blackbird, Red-Shouldered Starling, Red-Wing, Red-Winged Blackbird, Red-Winged Blackbird Redpoll, Red-Winged Oriole, Red-Winged Starling, Swamp Blackbird

Common Names in French:

Carouge � �paulettes, Carouge à èpaulettes, Carouge à épaulettes

Common Names in German:

Rotschulterstärling

Common Names in Japanese:

ハゴロモガラス

Common Names in Spanish:

Tordo Sargento

Description

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Family Fringillidae

A Family of seed-eating, small to moderately large passerine birds that have strong , stubby beaks, which in some species can be quite large. They have a bouncing flight, alternating flapping with gliding on closed wings. Most sing well.

Physical Description

Adult Female: Head : Crown: brown Face : dusky tan Eyebrow Line : broad, dusky tan Malar : thin brown mark Postocular Stripe : dark brown Body: Underparts: dusky white with heavy brown streaks Upperparts: brown with dark streaks.Adult Male: Tail: black.

Color:

The male is completely black except for a red shoulder patch (epaulet) with a narrow, yellow horizontal bar at the base of the patch. The female is brown above and has vertical brown and buff streaks below.

Size/Age/Growth

About 7.5 to 9.5 inches long, with a wingspan of 12 to 14.5 inches. Adults weigh about 2.3 ounces .

Habitat

The Red-winged Blackbird inhabits both wetland areas, such as freshwater and saltwater marshes, and dry upland areas, such as meadow, prairies, and old fields .

Vegetation: freshwater marshes, saltwater and brackish marshes, arid lowland scrubs, riparian thickets • Maximum Elevation: 3,000 meters • Foraging Strata: Midstory • Center of Abundance: Middle montane: mountains, middle range, 1,600-2,600 m. • Sensitivity to Disturbancet: Low

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 3,793 meters (0 to 12,444 feet).Mean = 519.470 meters (1,704.298 feet), Standard Deviation = 902.150 based on 20,000 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre.

Ecology:
List of Habitats :3.6Shrubland - Subtropical/Tropical Moist 5.4Wetlands (inland) - Bogs , Marshes, Swamps , Fens , Peatlands 12.5Marine Intertidal - Salt Marshes (Emergent Grasses)

Biology

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Diet

During the breeding season , it forages primarily on insects and other invertebrates . During the winter months it feeds primarily on grains. Large foraging flocks are common during winter and, less commonly, during the summer away from the breeding territories. Large migratory flocks may be observed during fall and early spring . Predation of eggs and nestlings is common.

Reproduction

Breeding season lasts from February through August. The birds commonly nest in marsh or prairie habitat . The female builds a cup-shaped nest about 1-2 m (3-6 ft ) above ground or water. She weaves the nesting material , usually grasses or reeds, into several upright cattails, reeds, or grasses for support . The female lays 3 - 4 greenish-blue eggs with brown spots, which she incubates for 11 days. Young are altricial. Both parents feed insects and insect larvae to the nestlings for 14 days. Then the young fledge from the nest. Red-winged Blackbirds are often polygamous.

Breeding Habitat: Wetland-open water
Nest Location: Ground-low nesting
Nest Type: Open-cup
Clutch Size: 3-4
Length of Incubation : 10-12 days
Days to Fledge: 11-14
Number of Broods: 2, occasionally 3

Migration

Migratory

Behavior

Nest predators include birds, snakes , and the Raccoon.

Taxonomy

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Domain: Eukaryota () - Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- Kingdom: Animalia () - Linnaeus, 1758 - animals
  - Subkingdom: Bilateria () - (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983
    - Branch: Deuterostomia () - Grobben, 1908
      - Infrakingdom: Chordonia () - (Haeckel, 1874) Cavalier-Smith, 1998
        Phylum: Chordata () - Bateson, 1885 - Chordates
        Subphylum: Vertebrata () - Cuvier, 1812 - Vertebrates
        Infraphylum: Gnathostomata () - Auct. - Jawed Vertebrates
        Superclass: Tetrapoda () - Goodrich, 1930
        Class: Aves () - Linnaeus, 1758 - Birds
        Subclass: Neornithes () - Gadow, 1893
        Infraclass: Neoaves ()
        Superorder: Passerimorphae ()
        Order: Passeriformes () - C. Linnaeus, 1758 - Perching Birds
        Suborder: Passeri ()
        Parvorder: Passerida ()
        Superfamily: Passeroidea ()
        Family: Fringillidae () - Buntings, Finches
        Subfamily: Emberizinae ()
        Tribe: Icterini ()
        Genus: Agelaius () - (Linnaeus, 1766)
        Specific name: phoeniceus - (Linnaeus, 1766)
        Scientific name: - Agelaius phoeniceus L.

Unambiguous Synonyms

Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus) 1766

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 17-Oct-2001.

Similar Species

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Tricolored Blackbird

Members of the genus Agelaius

There are approximately 55 species in this genus:

Bibliography

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Bird Reference Citations. The numbers inserted in the text accounts above (usually in bold) refer to references. For further details on these references, click on the BirdLife International link above to go to the specific species account on the BirdLife web site. In some cases, particularly in the taxonomic notes, the references are cited using the author names. Details for these can be found on the BirdLife International web site at the following two places: For References from A–L. For References from M–Z.
BirdLife International. 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, U.K.
BirdLife International. 2004 Threatened Birds of the World 2004. CD-ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.

More Info

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Search for Pictures: images.google.com
Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books

Notes

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Contributors

BirdLife International 2004. In IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCNRedList.org. Downloaded July 18, 2008.
Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 and ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 14, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 13 providers.
Hines, J. E., Gregory Gough, J. R. Sauer, et al. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
NatureServe. 2003. Downloadable animal data sets. NatureServe Central Databases. Accessed February 6, 2005.
Parker III, T.A., D.F. Stotz, and J.W. Fitzpatrick, and quot;Ecological and Distributional Databases for Neotropical Birds, and quot; in Neotropical Birds: Ecology and Conservation, by D.F. Stotz, T.A. Parker III, J.W. Fitzpatrick, and D.K. Moskovits (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996). ISBN 0-226-64676-9.
Sauer, J. R., J. E. Hines, and J. Fallon. 2005. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Results and Analysis 1966 - 2004. Version 2005.2. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
Sauer, J. R., S. Schwartz, and B. Hoover. 1996. The Christmas Bird Count Home Page. Version 95.1. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
The Georgia Museum of Natural History and Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Universal Biological Indexer and Organizer. uBio.org accessed July 17, 2008.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 14, 2008:

Avian Knowledge Network: eBird
Avian Knowledge Network: Great Backyard Bird Count
Avian Knowledge Network: Project FeederWatch
Bird Studies Canada: Marsh Monitoring Program - Birds
Bird Studies Canada: Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas 1981-1985
Bird Studies Canada: Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas 2001-2005
Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics
Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: North West Territories and Nunavut Bird Checklist, Canada
Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: Provincial Museum of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada. Birds (Aves)
Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: Royal British Columbia Museum
Canadian Museum of Nature: Canadian Museum of Nature Bird Collection
Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates: Bird Collection
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology: Terrestrial vertebrate specimens
New Brunswick Museum: NBM birds
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: Santa Barbara Musem of Natural History
The New York Botanical Garden: Bronx River Bioblitz
UNIBIO, IBUNAM: CNAV/Coleccion Nacional de Aves
University of Colorado Museum: Zoological specimens
University of Michigan Museum of Zoology (UMMZ): Bird specimens

Identifiers

Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 3850972
Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-179059
Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13816086
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 179045
IUCN ID: 54142
Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: ABPBXB0010
Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 894

Agelaius phoeniceus

Common Names

Description

Family Fringillidae

Physical Description

Size/Age/Growth

Habitat

Biology

Diet

Reproduction

Migration

Behavior

Taxonomy

Unambiguous Synonyms

Notes

Similar Species

Members of the genus Agelaius

Bibliography

More Info

Notes

Contributors

Data Sources

Identifiers

Footnotes