Rusty Blackbird

♀ Rusty Blackbird, Euphagus carolinus

A medium-sized blackbird, the Rusty Blackbird can be found in wooded swamps and boreal forests of North America. While breeding males are a dark glossy black, wintering males have rusty feather edges. Both males and females have buff eyebrows and pale yellow eyes. They gather in small flocks during winter in the southeast, sometimes with other species including Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles, and European Starlings. During breeding season, the insectivorous Rusty Blackbirds can be found throughout the wet woods in boreal forsts of Canada and Alaska. Unfortunately, the Rusty Blackbird is one of North America's most rapidly declining species. They are declining at an alarming rate of ~5.1% a year with an estimated 85-99% population plunge over the past forty years making them vulnerable to extinction. While the specific cause of decline is currently unknown, it is believed hematozoa infections, global climate change, mercury contamination, predation, and habitat loss are all contributing factors. Further research into their behavioral ecology and social organization is needed to improve conservation efforts.