| Anyone who notices birds at all knows the male Red-winged Blackbird as the all black bird with the bright red shoulders. He is one of the most conspicuous and self-revealing of birds during the breeding season. He quickly flies up to greet intruders with a loud 'konk-a-reee,' a pleasing call which attracts as much attention as his crimson epaulettes.
Originally an inhabitant of the marshes, the Red-winged Blackbird is a classic example of one species' ability to adapt to drastic environmental changes. While most animals' numbers decline or completely disappear in the wake of change, the Red-winged Blackbird has prospered.
Modern agricultural practices have proved to be so beneficial to these birds that they are now becoming an economic problem for farmers at least in corn fields. Paradoxically, during the nesting season, they are highly beneficial as they are entirely insectivorous. Hayfields and clover fields benefit from the Red-winged nesting sites; but, as the corn ears develop, the Red-wing flocks gather (sometimes numbering in the thousands) and begin to include corn on the cob in their daily diet.
Many schemes have been devised to discourage the flocks: shooting, trapping, poison bait, noisemakers, distress tapes, but none have completely succeeded. The Red-winged Blackbird is here to stay, beneficiary of today's monocultures
Length: 7 to 9 1/2 inches.
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