Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus)

Abundance: Uncommon to Very Uncommon fall and winter; Very Uncommon spring; recorded in 20 Regional counties, 6 in Kentucky and 14 in Tennessee (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts are too few to determine a trend in the population wintering in the Region (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Winter Resident; steeply decreasing population indicated by continental Breeding Bird Survey and Christmas Bird Count data; photograph (Edmund K. LeGrand; Vervilla Rd., Warren County, Tennessee; 8 February 2009).

Regional High Count and CBC High Count: 5000 (4 January 1981; Pulaski County, Kentucky [Somerset CBC]; Jackie B. Elmore, Sr.).

Regional Extreme Dates:

    Early Fall: 9 October 2004 (White County, Tennessee; Douglas A. Downs et al.; Casteel 2005a).

    Late Spring: 6 May 1978 (Putnam County [SBC], Tennessee; observers unknown; Stedman 1993); Next Earliest: 27 April 2000 (Putnam County, Tennessee; Stephen J. Stedman; Stedman 2006–2010).

    Note: Regional dates of earliest reported fall arrival and latest reported spring departure for winters from 2001–2002 to 2010–2011 follow:

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: 3 registrations (of 125) during 2003 and 5 (of 206) during 2004, indicating that the Rusty Blackbird is Rare in Regional yards and neighborhoods, rather than Uncommon or Very Uncommon.

Habitat: Any site used by large flocks of foraging "blackbirds" may be used by this species when it mixes with other such species, including agricultural, suburban, and woodland sites; when not in mixed species flocks may occur in the same habitats but frequents the edges and interiors of wet woods and wooded swamps to a greater degree than is the case with other "blackbird" species.

Remarks: The High Count occurred in the early or mid-stage of a steep decrease in numbers of this icterid and may not be a number that can be expected to recur in the future.  The Early Fall Date is considerably earlier than the usual fall arrival date for this species in the Region, a date that usually falls in November, but this date is surpassed by one date published for Tennessee (Robinson 1990) and equaled by one date published for Kentucky (Palmer-Ball 2003). The Late Spring Date is unprecedented in the Region, but it, too, is surpassed by some late spring dates published for Tennessee (Robinson 1990) and Kentucky (Palmer-Ball 2003).

    A link to a website that is focused on the Rusty Blackbird is found below:

• Rusty Blackbird website

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited