SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 
ON THE RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD 
The red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus ), colorful denizen 
of marsh and meadow, has long been a controversial subject with the 
farmer. Nomadic flocks frequent fields at planting and ripening time 
to feed on grain or insects attacking grain. In spite of its depre¬ 
dations, the red-winged blackbird has certain redeeming qualities 
that must be recognized. Aware of the farmer's problem, the Bureau 
of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife is carrying out research on blackbirds. 
Agricultural and wildlife technicians associated with this problem 
will find the following references useful for investigations in this 
field. 
The references, here listed alphabetically by authors, include 
unpublished reports and theses that are reasonably available to the 
investigator. Brief, descriptive annotations are supplied for those 
references with titles that do not clearly indicate the content of 
the paper. This report is a revision of the red-winged blackbird 
bibliography issued in 1960 as Wildlife Leaflet 423. 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
Allen, A. A. 1914. The red-winged blackbird: a study in the ecology 
of a cat-tail marsh. Proceedings of the Linnaean Society of 
New York, nos. 24-25, p. 43-128. 
(Life history and ecology in the Finger Lakes region of 
New York.) 
American Ornithologists' Union Committee. 1957. Check-list of North 
American birds. Fifth edition. American Ornithologists' 
Union. 691 p. 
(Red-winged blackbird nomenclature and ranges.) 
Beal, F. E. L. 1900. Food of the bobolink, blackbirds, and grackles. 
U. S. Biological Survey Bulletin 13. 77 p. 
Beecher, W. J. 1942. Nesting birds and the vegetation substrate. 
Chicago Ornithological Society. 69 p. 
(Nesting densities in various habitats.) 
_1951. Adaptations for food-getting in the American blackbirds. 
Auk, vol* 68, no. 4, p. 411-440. 
(Feeding modifications in skull of genera of family Icteridae.) 
Beer, J. R., and D, Tibbitts. 1950. Nesting behavior of the red-wing 
blackbird. Flicker, vol. 22, no. 3, p. 61-77. 
(Breeding biology at Madison, Wis.) 
1 
