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Rusty blackbird

Euphagus carolinus · Unprotected and nuisance birds

Rusty blackbird (Euphagus carolinus): Male dull black, female slaty, with yellow eyes in most seasons; 21-25 cm. Like male Brewer's Blackbird but less glossy, with a thinner bill. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and date

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Scientific name
Euphagus carolinus
Family
Icteridae
In North America
Native
Range
Breeds from Alaska to Labrador and south to central British Columbia, northern Great Lakes, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Nova Scotia; in the non-breeding season ranges south to Texas, the Gulf Coast and northern Florida, primarily the southeastern U.S. Assessed Special Concern in Canada.
Biology

How to identify it

Male dull black, female slaty, with yellow eyes in most seasons; 21-25 cm. [1][2][3]

Like male Brewer's Blackbird but less glossy, with a thinner bill. [1][2][3]

In fall distinctive with rusty feather edges and a buff eyebrow. [1][2][3]

Compared with the brewer's blackbird: Brewer's male is glossier with a thicker bill; ranges mainly west of Rusty's range. [1][2][3]

Compared with the common grackle: Longer-tailed and larger. [1][2][3]

Species it is confused with

Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.

Field notes

  • Identification Confirm a rusty blackbird before you act. Compared with the brewer's blackbird: Brewer's male is glossier with a thicker bill; ranges mainly west of Rusty's range.[1][2][3]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Breeds in wet northern coniferous forest and muskeg with many lakes and bogs; in migration and winter favors trees near water such as wooded swamps and riverside forest, and forages in fields and feedlots. Canadian sources describe breeding near wetlands: sedge meadows, beaver ponds, muskegs and shrub-riparian areas. [1][2][3]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Migrates relatively late in fall and early in spring; strays appear in the West and Southwest most often in late fall [1][2][3]

Forages mostly walking on wet ground or wading in shallow water, alone or in flocks, sometimes joining other blackbirds in dry fields [1][2][3]

Mostly insects including aquatic ones (caddisflies, mayflies, dragonflies), also snails, crustaceans, small fish and salamanders, and seeds and waste grain in winter [1][2][3]

Song like the squeaks of a rusty gate; call a sharp check [1][2][3]

Regulatory handoff

Take status not established

North Ground has not established meaningful legal take of this species. That is a gap in the evidence, not a finding that it is protected or that it is open.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Breeds from Alaska to Labrador and south to central British Columbia, northern Great Lakes, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Nova Scotia; in the non-breeding season ranges south to Texas, the Gulf Coast and northern Florida, primarily the southeastern U.S. Assessed Special Concern in Canada.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. Government of Canada · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Government of Canada

  2. National Audubon Society · reviewed 2026-09-30

    National Audubon Society

  3. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe