Blackbirds

Rusty Blackbird

Roststärling

Euphagus carolinus

Blackbirds5 photosFirst seen: 19 August 2026

The Rusty Blackbird breeds in wet boreal forests, where it feeds along shallow pools, muddy edges and floating vegetation. In autumn and winter, rusty feather edges give the species its English name; these wear away toward spring, leaving males largely black. Numbers have declined steeply across North America, making even its quiet northern breeding habitats important.

ID tip: Look for a pale yellow eye, a slender slightly curved bill and a medium-length tail. Nonbreeding birds show rusty edging and a pale eyebrow; Brewer's Blackbirds are glossier, longer-tailed and less strongly patterned.

First seen: 19 August 2026 · Denali National Park · 5 photos in the collection.

Places in my records

Locations where this species is supported by a dated first record, an unambiguous single-place outing or a reviewed assignment.

Denali National Park19 August 2026

Family: Blackbirds (Icteridae)
Length: 21–25 cm
Wingspan: 37 cm
Regional status: Summer visitor (Alaska, USA)
Conservation: Vulnerable VUIUCN Red List · retrieved 27 August 2026
Habitat: Boreal wooded wetlands, muskeg, bogs and the edges of ponds and slow streams
Diet: Aquatic insects, other invertebrates, seeds and berries

Built from verified occurrence records, not drawn by hand. Core range = the countries holding 99% of all records; the rest are scattered or vagrant records. Record counts track where people watch birds as much as where the birds are, so the map shows presence, not abundance. Data: GBIF (CC BY 4.0). Basemap: Natural Earth.

Rusty Blackbird

Places in my records

Selected photographs