rhamphotheca:Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) DECLININGThe Rusty Blackbird is a medium-sized bla
rhamphotheca:Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) DECLININGThe Rusty Blackbird is a medium-sized blackbird with a slender, slightly decurved bill, matte black plumage (in males), and pale yellow eye. They are North America’s most northern-nesting blackbird, and a characteristic breeding species of boreal forests. In winter, they gather in small flocks, sometimes mixing with Common Grackles, Red-winged Blackbirds, and European Starlings. “Rusties” have a distinctive winter plumage, set off by red-brown feather edges.This bird is one of North America’s most rapidly declining species. Its population has plunged an estimated 85 percent or more over the past 40 years, and scientists are not sure as to the exact cause. Destruction and degradation of wetlands appear to be the chief threat to the Rusty Blackbird, both on its boreal breeding grounds and across its wintering range…(read more: American Bird Conservancy)photograph by Mike Parr -- source link