Rusty Blackbird Overview

The rusty blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) is a widespread North American species that has shown chronic long-term and acute short-term population declines, based both on breeding season and wintering ground surveys. more

Rusty blackbirds are ecologically distinct from other blackbirds, depending upon boreal wetlands for breeding and bottomland wooded-wetlands for wintering.

The decline, although one of the most profound for any North American species, is poorly understood. Moreover, no conservation or monitoring programs exist for this species. See boxes to right to help monitor this bird.

Given the species close association with wooded wetlands throughout the year, it could prove to be an excellent indicator species for environmental processes in these threatened ecosystems.

Formation of Technical Working Group

In February 2005, we formed the International Rusty Blackbird Technical Working Group to develop a cross-seasonal and comprehensive research program to develop the information to understand the causes and ecological significance of the rusty blackbirds' decline.

This information and the future information gathered by long-term monitoring programs are critical to developing on-the-ground conservation strategies and management programs to stem the rapid decline of this species.

Critical Needs

The research and monitoring program is designed to obtain critically-needed information in three different areas:

1. basic ecology and natural history
2. the effects of specific possible causes for declines
3. the most efficacious survey techniques and monitoring program

To address these areas we have developed a series of high priority research activities.

Short-term goals:

• intensive studies of breeding and winter population biology and trophic ecology using marked and radio-tagged birds.
• establish the connectivity of breeding and wintering populations through feather isotope analysis.
• focal studies in the western portion of the breeding range to monitor the effects of wetlands drying and in the eastern portion to assess the impact of acidification and methyl mercury contamination.
• use existing data sets to relate local changes in abundance to climate and land use to develop hypotheses for what is causing the species' decline.
• develop survey techniques that can be used in a pilot and breeding and winter atlas projects.

Long-term Goals:

• synthesize demographic data gathered at multiple breeding and winter sites along with connectivity information to begin to build population models.
• develop recommendations to wildlife and land management agencies for the recovery of rusty blackbird populations.