This male Rusty Blackbird was photographed at Lakeshore State Park on Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

A male Rusty Blackbird with a fall and winter coloring

This female Rusty Blackbird was photographed at Northpoint, north of Bradford Beach, on Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Select this link to see photos or a slideshow of the Rusty Blackbird

The male Rusty Blackbird is mainly black with a yellow eye and is about the size of a Robin. In the fall and winter the male Rusty Blackbird has a rusty coloring with black stripes on the wings and barring on the breast. The female has a tan color in the fall and winter or slate coloring in the spring with a clean breast. It has a winter range of Alaska and eastern Canada, a summer range of southeaster United States. In migration and winter it is usually found in swampy places or wading in very shallow water. In migration and winter it is usually found in swampy places or wading in very shallow water. Its diet is mostly insects and seeds. It was found and photographed migrating through Wisconsin during the fall.