Rusty Blackbird
Learn to identify the Rusty Blackbird by ear. Master the "rusty hinge creak" phrase and tell it apart from similar species.
What the Rusty Blackbird sounds like
The Rusty Blackbird is a medium–sized, swamp-loving blackbird of North America’s boreal forests. Named for the warm, rusty feather edges that cloak birds in non-breeding plumage, it breeds far to the north in quiet spruce bogs and muskeg and then migrates to the wooded wetlands of the southeastern United States for winter. Once abundant, the species has suffered one of the steepest population declines of any North American passerine—over 85 % in the last half-century—making every sighting notable.
“rusty hinge creak”
How to tell it apart
Lessons featuring the Rusty Blackbird
Ready to test your ear? Practice identifying the Rusty Blackbird's sounds in this interactive in-app lesson.
Start Learning Free
Where you'll hear it
Breeds in remote boreal conifer bogs, flooded tamarack/spruce forests, and tundra ponds; winters in wet bottomland hardwood swamps, beaver ponds, flooded fields, and pecan groves.
Arrives on northern breeding grounds April–May; migrates south Aug–Oct; spends Nov–Mar on wintering grounds, often in small flocks mixed with grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds.
Similar species
Brewer’s Blackbird
Brewer’s has a shorter bill and never shows rusty fringes.
Common Grackle
Much larger with keel-shaped tail.
Red-winged Blackbird (female)
Female Red-wing is streaky with a strong pale eyebrow.