100 
The Red-winged Blackbird 
with a rush, and pass on to the next open field to continue the 
remarkable performance. 
Not Many 
Friends 
Blackbirds do not have many friends among the farmers. There 
is a widespread feeling that they do a great deal of damage, and at 
times this is true, for they will peck the heads of 
growing grain, such as rice and oats, and thresh 
it out to get the kernels. However, there have 
been very careful studies made of the feeding habits of the Red- 
wing. One of the best has been made by Edward H. Forbush, the 
well know bird-man of Massachusetts, and here is what he has to 
say : 
“They forage about the fields and meadows when they first 
come north in spring. Later they follow the plow, picking up 
grubs, worms, and caterpillars; and should there be an outbreak 
of cankerworms in the orchard, the Blackbirds will fly at least half 
a mile to get cankerworms for their young. Wilson estimated 
that the Red-wings of the United States would in four months 
destroy sixteen thousand, two hundred million larvae. 
Food of the 
Red-wing 
“They eat the caterpillars of the gipsy moth, the forest tent 
caterpillar, and other hairy larvae. They are among the most de- 
structive birds to weevils, click beetles, and wire 
worms. Grasshoppers, ants, bugs, and flies form 
a portion of the Red-wing’s food. They eat com- 
paratively little grain in Massachusetts, although they get some 
from newly sown fields in spring, as well as from the autumn 
harvest; but they feed very largely on the seeds of weeds and wild 
rice in the fall. In the South they join with the Bobolink in dev- 
astating the rice fields, and in the west they are often so numerous 
as to destroy the grain in the fields ; but here the good they do far 
outweighs the injury, and for this reason they are protected by 
law.” 
Classification and Distribution 
The Red-winged Blackbird belongs to the Order Passeres, Suborder Oscines 
and Family Icteridae. Its scientific name is Agelaius phoeniceus phoeniceus. Its 
range is North America east of the Great Plains, including the Gulf Coast and 
Florida, breeding over most of this area, and wintering south of the Ohio and 
Delaware valleys. Seven subspecies are recognized in classification, four in 
the West Indian and Mexican region, two in the region west of the Great Plains, 
and one, the Thick-billed Redwing, in the region of the Plains. 
This and other Educational Leaflets are for sale, at 5 cents each, by the National Association of 
Audubon Societies, 1974 Broadway, New York City. Lists given on request. 
