Red-winged Blackbird - Discover Nature (KRCG)

The Missouri Department of Conservation wants to help you to discover nature and learn more about red-winged blackbirds.

While females are mainly shades of brown, the bird gets its name from the male, which has a bright red shoulder patch.

From March thru May, males display their color as they defend their nesting territories.

When other birds invade the red-wing's territory, he spreads his tail, drops his wings and loudly lets out his song.

This aggressive behavior is not just limited to other birds.

You really have to try and avoid the area when they are being territorial.
If you have to be in that area, and they make you nervous, than have something with you that you can hold between you and the bird.

Red-wings nest either over water or in grasslands producing two to three broods a year, beginning mid-April

Red-winged blackbirds nest from the southern Yukon to the Bahamas.

Some believe the red-wing is the most abundant bird in North America.

Look for it in pond marshes, among cattails, in wetlands or or weedy roadside ditches, where they dine on insects and seeds.