Rusty Blackbird
(Euphagus carolinus)

Overview

Summary

© Jukka Jantunen (flickr.com/photos/jukka_jantunen)
For additional photos and vocalizations, visit Dendroica. (Link opens in a new window.)

The Rusty Blackbird breeds widely in the northern forests of Canada and winters mostly in the southern United States. Both Christmas Bird Count (CBC) and Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data indicate a large decrease in numbers since at least 1970. CBC data show a dramatic overall loss of about 80% over 42 years. Since an estimated 86% of the world's Rusty Blackbirds nest in Canada's boreal forests, Canada has a very high responsibility for the species. The Rusty Blackbird was assessed as a species of Special Concern by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada based on these population declines (COSEWIC 2006b). This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.

Designations

Population status

Population estimate

Distribution maps

• BirdLife International / NatureServe
• Breeding Bird Survey (BBS): Relative Abundance and Breeding Distribution (1993-2012)

Migration strategy, occurrence

Responsibility for conservation of world population

Conservation and management

Causes of population declines in the Rusty Blackbird remain largely unknown, but are thought to be due to habitat loss on the winter range (e.g., conversion of forests on the Mississippi floodplain to agricultural and urban habitats) and blackbird control programs that have been underway in the southeastern United States since the 1970s (COSEWIC 2006b). Other possible causes of the decline include wetland acidification, mercury contamination, disease, and habitat loss and degradation on the breeding grounds through conversion to agriculture, peat production, reservoir formation, and logging, as well as drying and changing water chemistry of boreal wetlands due to climate change (Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center 2010). For information on the legal status of this species under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) and to view available recovery documents, see the SARA Registry.

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

• conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
• stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
• management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
• other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

References

• COSEWIC. 2006b. COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the Rusty Blackbird Euphagus carolinus in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vi + 28 pp. COSEWIC. 2006b. COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the Rusty Blackbird Euphagus carolinus in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vi + 28 pp. (Link)
• Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. 2010. Rusty Blackbird Decline Overview. Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. 2010. Rusty Blackbird Decline Overview. (Link)