Agelaius phoeniceus
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
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.
The red-winged blackbird... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Detroit | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Zoological Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Xcaret | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 4 | Akron Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Key West Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States |
Likely
About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Red-winged Blackbird sighting in Toronto on a given day, based on 43,409 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 8th most-seen of the 288 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March to June
In those months about 90% of wildlife watchers report a Red-winged Blackbird in Toronto on a given day, against under 5% in December and January, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Red-winged Blackbird sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 44 cities where we can rate Red-winged Blackbird sightings, Toronto ranks 3rd at about 60%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Chicago (United States, about 60%) and Denver (United States, about 60%).
Same family: Icteridae
The closest relatives of the Red-winged Blackbird that you can see in Toronto (family Icteridae, New World Blackbirds and Orioles) are Common Grackle (about 40%), Brown-headed Cowbird (about 20%) and Baltimore Oriole (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Red-winged Blackbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Toronto (43,409 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
