Introduction

The Rusty Blackbird, perhaps the least well known of North America’s blackbirds, breeds north to the tree line in wet forests of Alaska, Canada, and the northeastern United States. No other North American blackbird breeds as far north. Although detailed studies of its breeding biology are few, this species nests most frequently along bogs, muskeg swamps, beaver (Castor canadensis) ponds, and streams, and its robust, arboreal nests are often reused by other species such as the Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria).

This species is not distinctively marked except for brown, rust-colored edgings on its upperbody feathers in fall and winter. An opportunistic feeder, it eats mostly invertebrates during the breeding season, generally taking them by probing in mud and vegetation along the edges of wetlands. In winter and on migration, it joins mixed-species roosts and feeding flocks, but also occurs apart from other species, favoring woodlands more than other blackbirds do. Also unlike other blackbirds, this species is seldom a nuisance depredating crops or at roosts.

Because of its remote breeding habitat, inconspicuous behavior, and lack of economic impact, this species has received little study, and its population status and trends remain poorly known.