Bird

Rusty Blackbird

Euphagus carolinus

A winter visitor to Florida, found in 64 of 67 counties and 15 habitats.

Here: Winter
Nesting: Not known to nest here
Range: 64 of 67 counties
Habitats: 15

Male Rusty Blackbird, whole bird — **Male**. (c) Derek Spencer, some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY. iNaturalist photo 492319024. iNaturalist large derivative; no local crop or retouch.

At a glance

Group: Birds
Here: Winter
Nesting: Not known to nest here
Range: 64 of 67 counties
Habitats: 15
Habitat models: Winter

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Florida 15

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 15

WinterUnconsolidated Shore (Beach/Dune); Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Interdunal WetlandGeorge Catlin, White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola (1834-35): high white dunes with scattered clumps of dune plants above the Gulf. Santa Rosa Island near Pensacola, FloridaWhite Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola, George Catlin (1796-1872), 1834-1835. Public domain. Source record.

WinterFloridian Highlands Freshwater MarshMartin Johnson Heade, The Great Florida Marsh (1886): open marsh and lily-dotted water beneath live oaks and cabbage palms. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Florida (Heade, The Great Florida Marsh, 1886; North Carolina Museum of Art)*The Great Florida Marsh*, Martin Johnson Heade, 1886. Public domain. Source record.

WinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods; East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine FlatwoodsGeorge Inness, Georgia Pines (1890): tall, straight pines over an open, grassy floor in a south Georgia pine woods. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Georgia pine woods (George Inness, 1890; site not named), a neighboring state.Georgia Pines, George Inness (1825-1894), 1890. Public domain. Source record.

WinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Savanna and Wet Prairie; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and FlatwoodsGeorge Catlin, Beautiful Savannah in the Pine Woods of Florida (1834-35): an open grassy savanna with a shallow pond, ringed by tall pines, with palmettos and red wildflowers. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Pine woods of Florida (George Catlin, 1834-35; Smithsonian American Art Museum)*Beautiful Savannah in the Pine Woods of Florida*, George Catlin, 1834-1835. Public domain. Source record.

WinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Large Natural LakeshoreMartin Johnson Heade, Florida Sunrise: still water and a palm-fringed shore glowing at dawn. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Florida (Heade, Florida Sunrise, c. 1890-1900)*Florida Sunrisetitle QS:P1476,en:"Florida Sunrise"label QS:Len,"Florida Sunrise"*, Martin Johnson Heade, c. 1890-1900. Public domain. Source record.

WinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and BaygallFlorida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha (1899): a dark swamp-lined river at sunset, with cypress and hardwoods crowding both banks. Ocklawaha River, FloridaFlorida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha, Detroit Photographic Co. (chromolithograph), 1899. Public domain. Source record.

Depression ponds and limesinks

Shallow ponds in Coastal Plain depressions, such as limesinks and the ponds in some Carolina bays, that rise and fall with the seasons.

WinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Depression Pondshore

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

Winter

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

WinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest

Pocosins and bay forests

Dense evergreen shrub wetlands and bay forests on wet, acid peat of the Coastal Plain.

WinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall

Salt and brackish marshes

Coastal marshes flooded by salty or brackish tides.

WinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Indian River Lagoon Tidal Marsh

Seeps and springs

Places where groundwater keeps the soil or rock wet, such as seepage slopes and spring runs.

WinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

WinterOnly within 120 m of water.East Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest

Moist forests

Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.

WinterOnly within 120 m of water.East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

WinterOnly within 120 m of water.Pasture/Hay

Other habitats in its models (59)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Florida. Those recorded in Florida first, the rest by region.

Elsewhere in the South (29)

Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Winter.
Central and South Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Winter, only within 120 m of water.
Central Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest Winter, only within 120 m of water.
Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Winter.
Mississippi River Bottomland Depression Winter.
Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Winter.
Mississippi River Riparian Forest Winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Mesic Hardwood Forest Winter, only within 120 m of water.
Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Winter.
South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Winter.
South-Central Interior Large Floodplain Winter.
South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian Winter.
Southern and Central Appalachian Bog and Fen Winter.
Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest Winter, only within 120 m of water.
Southern Piedmont Mesic Forest Winter, only within 120 m of water.
Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest Winter.
Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Winter, only within 120 m of water.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood Forest Winter, only within 120 m of water.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie Winter, only within 120 m of water.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Winter.

Northeast (3)

Appalachian Hemlock-Hardwood Forest Winter, only within 120 m of water.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Maritime Forest Winter, only within 120 m of water.
North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Winter.

Midwest (1)

North-Central Interior Maple-Basswood Forest Winter, only within 120 m of water.

Land cover and other classes (26)

Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier Winter.
Central Appalachian Floodplain - Forest Modifier Winter.
Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier Winter.
Central Interior and Appalachian Floodplain Systems Winter.
Central Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems Winter.
Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Winter.
Central Interior and Appalachian Swamp Systems Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Herbaceous Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Winter, only within 120 m of water.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Winter.
Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Winter.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland Winter, only within 120 m of water.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland and Forbland Winter, only within 120 m of water.
Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Winter.
Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Winter.
South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier Winter.
South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Winter.
Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Herbaceous Modifier Winter, only within 120 m of water.
Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Winter.
Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression Swamp Winter.
Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Slough Winter.
Unconsolidated Shore Winter.
Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Winter.

All habitats

Seasons in Florida

Winter: does not nest here, in 64 of 67 counties.

Food plants

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Plants matched by genus.

No native plants of these genera are recorded in Florida.

Plant genera in its diet records (1)

Zea 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Florida

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Florida, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.

Rusty Blackbird uses many habitats in Florida; these are its 3 most characteristic.