Red-Winged Blackbird

The red-winged blackbird — known in Spanish as tordo sargento, sargento alirrojo, tordo alirrojo, tordo capitán or turpial alirrojo — is a passerine bird of the family Icteridae. It is a migratory bird that lives in wetlands and farmland of North and Central America. It shows marked sexual dimorphism, both in a noticeable difference in size and in the colour of the plumage, which appears at an early age. The females are mainly brown with heavy streaking below, and the males predominantly black with a pair of red patches edged by a yellow band on the wings. Insects and seeds make up most of its diet. It is considered a pest of agriculture. It may well be the most abundant native bird in North America, with an estimated population of one hundred and ninety million individuals in 1974 in the United States alone, which is why it is classified as of least concern. Its populations grew enormously in the mid-twentieth century. The red-winged blackbird has been extensively studied because of its polygynous mating system. It is also notable for its high degree of territoriality during the breeding season.