The Rusty Blackbird is a boreal wetland specialist whose population has crashed by an estimated 85–90% since the 1960s — one of the steepest declines of any North American land bird. It is named for the rust-colored feather edges males wear in fall and winter, which wear away to reveal black breeding plumage. Causes of its decline remain poorly understood.
Habitat
Boreal wooded swamps in summer; wet bottomlands in winter
Diet
Aquatic invertebrates, seeds, and berries
How common
Uncommon
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