CreatureData

Red-winged blackbird

Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766)

LCLeast Concernsongbirds

The red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) is a species in the family Icteridae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 39.6 g to 63.8 g and live up to 15.8 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)
Photo: Walter Siegmund (talk) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the red-winged blackbird

Weight
39.6 g – 63.8 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
15.8 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Granivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
20 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
wetlandsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
12 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
3.3src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
12 months – 18 monthssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
2src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Migratorysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Photos of the red-winged blackbird

Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

1 more photo exists under a licence we cannot display: view at source.

Where does the red-winged blackbird live?

Not recorded

What is the red-winged blackbird?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

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. Seeds and insects make up the bulk of the red-winged blackbird's diet.

From the Wikipedia article “Red-winged blackbird” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Red-winged_blackbird&oldid=1385073202), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

What does the red-winged blackbird sound like?

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Is the red-winged blackbird endangered?

The red-winged blackbird is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the red-winged blackbird classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyIcteridae
  6. genusAgelaius
  7. SpeciesAgelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766)

Synonyms Icterus phoeniceus, Oriolus phoeniceus, Sturnus predatorius

Other names and names in other languages (53)
  • Bicolored blackbirdEnglish
  • Mainland red-winged blackbirdEnglish
  • North American red-winged blackbirdEnglish
  • Red-shouldered blackbirdEnglish
  • Redwing blackbirdEnglish
  • iimaohkominniiksiiniSiksiká
  • sergent ala-roigCatalan
  • vlhovec červenokřídlýCzech
  • tresglen adeingochWelsh
  • Rødvinget StærlingDanish
  • RotflügelstärlingGerman
  • RotschulterstärlingGerman
  • ruĝflugila nigrikteroEsperanto
  • AcolchichiSpanish
  • Sargento alirrojoSpanish
  • Tordo sargentoSpanish
  • punaolkaturpiaaliFinnish
  • Carouge à épaulettesFrench
  • Lon deargeiteachIrish
  • Blackbu'dgul
  • שחרורית אדומת-כנףHebrew
  • פזאי אדום-כנףHebrew
  • plamenokrili vranjakCroatian
  • pirosvállú csirögeHungarian
  • BlettasótiIcelandic
  • Ittero alirosseItalian
  • ハゴロモガラスJapanese
  • 붉은날개검은새Korean
  • Raudonsparnis trupialasLithuanian
  • raudonpetis juodasis trupialasLithuanian
  • sarkansspārnu strazdsLatvian
  • Pukɨtli’skiejMi'kmaw
  • Sakkelv-rakkoMuscogee
  • epauletspreeuwDutch
  • rødvingetrupialNorwegian
  • epoletnik krasnoskrzydłyPolish
  • graúna-de-asa-vermelhaPortuguese
  • Graúna-d'asa-vermelhaPortuguese
  • sargento-d'asa-vermelhaPortuguese
  • Красноплечий трупиалRussian
  • Красноплечий чёрный трупиалRussian
  • RuksessoadjatrupialaNorthern Sami
  • Dzago:gi:hSeneca
  • vlhovec červenokrídlySlovak
  • rdečeperuti škorčevecSlovenian
  • црвени косSerbian
  • Crvenokrili američki kosSerbian
  • rödvingetrupialSwedish
  • Al Kanatlı KaratavukTurkish
  • еполетник червоноплечийUkrainian
  • Трупіал малий блискучийUkrainian
  • 紅翅黑鸝Chinese
  • 红翅黑鹂Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the red-winged blackbird

Other species in the same genus Agelaius.

CompareRed-winged blackbird vs Tricolored blackbirdRed-winged blackbird vs Yellow-shouldered blackbirdRed-winged blackbird vs Tawny-shouldered blackbirdRed-winged blackbird vs Red-shouldered blackbird

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the red-winged blackbird?

An adult red-winged blackbird weighs 39.6 g – 63.8 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the red-winged blackbird endangered?

The red-winged blackbird is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the red-winged blackbird live?

The red-winged blackbird has a recorded lifespan of 15.8 years.

What kind of animal is the red-winged blackbird?

The red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) belongs to the family Icteridae in the order Passeriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-winged-blackbird

MLA

“Red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-winged-blackbird.

BibTeX
@misc{red_winged_blackbird_2026,
  title = {Red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-winged-blackbird},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}