Red-winged Blackbirds Claiming Territory

One day late last April I didn't see a lot with 1 exception: the male Red-winged Blackbirds were out in force. I didn't see any females (who look a lot different); I believe that the males arrive in a habitat earlier, establish their territories [1], and then the females arrive and pick a mate largely based on his territory.

The love life of a Red-winged Blackbird is complicated and would probably make a pretty good soap opera plot. The males aggressively claim and defend territories and mate with the females that nest within their territories. Males with a good territory typically have 5 females to mate with, though apparently they could have as many as 15 females residing there. But these females aren't exactly faithful; between 25-50% of their kids had someone else as a father.

My understanding is that a territory is claimed by finding a local perch, flashing the red/orange of their wings, and singing about how tough they are. (It sounds like this is usually sufficient to claim a territory, though I suppose there are rare instances of physical violence.) Here are some of the Red-winged Blackbird males who were out there claiming territory.

April 26, 2023 at Duke Farms
Photo 278270192, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

April 26, 2023 at Duke Farms
Photo 278270410, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

April 26, 2023 at Duke Farms
Photo 278270436, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)



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