Agelaius phoeniceus
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% 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 40% of wildlife watchers report a Red-winged Blackbird sighting in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on a given day, based on 5,356 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 29th most-seen of the 279 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Red-winged Blackbird in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on a given day, against about 20% in September, the lowest month. That is one of Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge's wettest months, with about 180 mm of rain against 50 mm in March.
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.
7th of 56
Of the 56 parks where we can rate Red-winged Blackbird sightings, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge ranks 7th at about 40%. The best odds are in Point Pelee National Park (Canada, about 90%), Elk Island National Park (Canada, about 60%) and Riding Mountain National Park (Canada, about 60%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Icteridae
The closest relatives of the Red-winged Blackbird that you can see in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (family Icteridae, New World Blackbirds and Orioles) are Boat-tailed Grackle (about 70%) and Common Grackle (about 30%), 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 Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (5,356 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
