Red-winged Blackbird

Look for

Male: glossy black all over with a bright red shoulder patch bordered by a yellow stripe ("epaulet"). Displays it during territorial singing; hides it at feeders. Female: streaky brown and white, completely different from male — often mistaken for a sparrow.

Size: ~8.75" — between a sparrow and a robin.

Listen for

• Song: a gurgling, rolling "conk-la-REEE!" — the sound of every Memphis wetland in spring.
• Call: sharp "check!" alarm.

Where in Memphis

Any wet spot with cattails or tall grass.

• Shelby Farms pond edges and wet meadows
• Ensley Bottoms
• Wolf River wetlands
• Roadside ditches with cattails
• Any park pond

Year-round, but huge flocks in winter — thousands of birds roosting in cattail marshes at dusk.

Behavior

• Males display from cattail tops — puffing chest, spreading wings to flash red epaulets.
• Polygamous. A single male holds a marsh territory with up to 15 females.
• Aggressive. Attacks hawks, crows, herons that enter breeding territory — sometimes humans too.
• Winter roosts can reach millions of birds in mixed-blackbird flocks across the South.

Story

The most abundant bird in North America

Red-winged Blackbirds number roughly 200 million individuals — one of the most abundant birds on the continent. In some winter roosts in the South, mixed blackbird flocks exceed 10 million birds.

The Memphis "blackbird problem"

Every few years, news stories emerge about huge blackbird winter flocks near Memphis causing agricultural concern (grain loss) and noise complaints. These are mixed roosts — mostly Red-wings, grackles, and starlings.

"Conk-la-ree"

Universal song-mnemonic, taught to every Memphis kid who grows up birding. The sound is the opening credits of Southern spring.

Territorial obsession

Males attack anything larger than a chickadee that enters their marsh territory — including humans. Jogging or biking near a nesting Red-wing in May can earn you a dive-bomb.

Fun facts

• Epaulet flash is one of the purest examples of sexual signaling in birds.
• Females choose territory, not male — a male with a good marsh attracts many mates.
• They're in the icterid family — relatives of grackles, cowbirds, orioles.
• Oldest known wild Red-winged Blackbird: 15+ years.
• The scientific genus Agelaius means "gregarious" in Greek.