Red-winged Blackbird
Red-winged Blackbird has fallen sharply: down 52% on the route-weighted index since 1968.
About the Red-winged Blackbird
One of North America's most abundant birds, the Red-winged Blackbird breeds in marshes and wet fields, the males flashing scarlet shoulder patches as they sing from the cattails.
- Size
- 8.5–9.5 in long, about 2.3 oz (22–24 cm, 64 g)
- Habitat
- Marshes, ponds, lakeshores and other freshwater wetlands.
- Diet
- Insects in summer, and seeds and grain the rest of the year.
- Range
- Recorded on 3,955 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 49 states, most concentrated in the Appalachian Mountains.
- Family
- Icteridae · Wetland birds
- Conservation
- Least Concern
Notable Red-winged Blackbird Trends
Red-winged Blackbird has fallen sharply in surveyed states: down 52% on the route-weighted index since 1968.
Red-winged Blackbird Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Red-winged Blackbird is projected to fall about 29% by 2029 — from 41 in 2024 to a central estimate of 29 (95% range 19–39). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±23.3%, with 20% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 33 | 23 | 42 |
| 2026 | 32 | 22 | 41 |
| 2027 | 31 | 21 | 40 |
| 2028 | 30 | 20 | 40 |
| 2029 | 29 | 19 | 39 |
Where the Red-winged Blackbird Is Detected
BBS routes recording Red-winged Blackbird, sized by most recent count.
Red-winged Blackbird Population Trend by State
| Alabama | -88% | 1968 | 107 |
| Alaska | -59% | 1985 | 18 |
| Arizona | -78% | 1970 | 60 |
| Arkansas | +18% | 1969 | 58 |
| California | -5% | 1970 | 214 |
| Colorado | -31% | 1970 | 155 |
| Connecticut | -75% | 1968 | 20 |
| Delaware | -21% | 1968 | 17 |
| Florida | -71% | 1968 | 123 |
| Georgia | -76% | 1968 | 109 |
| Idaho | -63% | 1970 | 60 |
| Illinois | -25% | 1968 | 105 |
| Indiana | -59% | 1968 | 69 |
| Iowa | +10% | 1969 | 39 |
| Kansas | -21% | 1969 | 67 |
| Kentucky | -17% | 1968 | 64 |
| Louisiana | -31% | 1969 | 96 |
| Maine | -66% | 1968 | 73 |
| Maryland | -47% | 1968 | 76 |
| Massachusetts | -27% | 1968 | 32 |
| Michigan | -55% | 1968 | 105 |
| Minnesota | -15% | 1969 | 92 |
| Mississippi | -36% | 1968 | 71 |
| Missouri | -31% | 1969 | 95 |
| Montana | +67% | 1970 | 110 |
| Nebraska | +19% | 1969 | 76 |
| Nevada | -33% | 1970 | 44 |
| New Hampshire | -52% | 1968 | 26 |
| New Jersey | -14% | 1968 | 44 |
| New Mexico | -23% | 1970 | 60 |
| New York | -57% | 1968 | 129 |
| North Carolina | -31% | 1968 | 103 |
| North Dakota | +72% | 1969 | 51 |
| Ohio | -75% | 1968 | 89 |
| Oklahoma | +13% | 1969 | 69 |
| Oregon | +71% | 1970 | 123 |
| Pennsylvania | -63% | 1968 | 135 |
| Rhode Island | -62% | 1968 | 7 |
| South Carolina | -94% | 1968 | 48 |
| South Dakota | -25% | 1969 | 65 |
| Tennessee | -38% | 1968 | 51 |
| Texas | -47% | 1969 | 226 |
| Utah | +263% | 1970 | 79 |
| Vermont | -66% | 1968 | 26 |
| Virginia | -73% | 1968 | 77 |
| Washington | +237% | 1970 | 102 |
| West Virginia | -62% | 1968 | 63 |
| Wisconsin | -33% | 1968 | 98 |
| Wyoming | -4% | 1970 | 129 |
Red-winged Blackbird Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
Red-winged Blackbird Conservation Status
Least Concern
The IUCN Red List rates this species as Least Concern. Our route-weighted index shows it down about 52% since 1968.
Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22. Trend is a route-weighted relative-abundance index, not an absolute population.