Source and Additional Information

Animal Diversity Web
 
Anthony Rosenthal
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As migratory birds, red-winged blackbirds share many characteristics with related species. They are strong fliers that will often migrate in flocks of a thousand or more. Roosting is often communal, resulting in large, centralized populations. Red-winged blackbirds are largely diurnal, spending most of their day foraging. Males defend territories during the mating season. As the mating season progresses, both males and females will spend more time within their territory or the territory of their mate. Although fighting among red-winged blackbirds is not all that common, even among males, it is known to occur. Males chase females at top speed during breeding seasion. Because of their broad range and tendency to colonize large roosting areas, red-winged blackbirds are extremely common, and are easy to find in the mating season when singing and sexual displays make them more visible. (Georgia Museum of Natural History and Georgia Department of Natural Resorces, 2000; Kirschenbaum, 1996; National Wildlife Federation, 1996; Yasukawa and Searcy, 1995)

Home Range

Home range and territory size vary greatly among red-winged blackbirds given their broad geographic range and extensive use of varying habits. Males tend to control territories of approximately 2,000 square meters, but some territories in marshes may be as small as 153 m^2, and some territories in upland habitat may be as large as 29,235 m^2. Females will occupy the territory of a single male, along with many other females. Males will defend their territory against other male red-winged blackbirds and also against other species of bird, including Agelaius tricolor and Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus, usually yielding to larger bird species. Birds in Costa Rica defend territories that are two to four times the size of temperate birds to the north. (Yasukawa and Searcy, 1995)

Communication and Perception

Source and Additional Information

Animal Diversity Web
 
Anthony Rosenthal
Some rights reserved

Males learn songs from other males. Both males and females have a variety of calls, some of which are the same. Only the males produce flight calls, which signal their exit from the territory. Both males and females employ distress and alarm calls which differ with the nature of the threat. Specific calls seem to communicate the presence of specific predators, such as Procyon lotor or Corvus brachyrhynchos. Short contact calls are also quite common, especially between a territorial male and the females in his territory. Threat calls are used to ward off predators, other birds and other red-winged blackbirds. Courtship calls vary little between males and females and are used only in the breeding season. Male songs are used to announce territorial boundaries and to attract mates. Female songs occur in the early breeding season and are most common before the incubation period.

Male red-winged blackbirds utter their familiar territorial and mate attraction song of "oak-a-lee" or "konkeree" in the spring. The last syllable is given more emphasis as a scratchy or buzzy trill. The common call used by both males and females is a "check" call. Males may utter a whistled "cheer" or "peet" call if alarmed. Other calls made by the male include a "seet," a "chuck," or a "cut." Females may utter a short chatter or sharp scream. A pre-mating call, "ti-ti-ti," may be uttered by both sexes. (Yasukawa and Searcy, 1995)

Visual displays are also a key form of communication, especial before and during mating. Males often use visual displays in order to attract females to their territories and to defend their territories and mates. An example is the "song spread" display. Males fluff their plumage, raise their shoulders, and spread their tail as they sing. As the display becomes more intense, the wings are more arched with the shoulders showing more prominently. Females will also engage in a "song spread" display directed at each other early in the breeding season. One possibility is that a female will defend a sub-territory within the male's territory. Females will engage in a "wing flip" display when a disturbance prevents them from returning to the nest. (Yasukawa and Searcy, 1995)