Bird
Rusty Blackbird
Euphagus carolinus
A winter visitor to Louisiana, found in all 64 parishes and 10 habitats.
- Here
- Winter
- Nesting
- Not known to nest here
- Range
- All 64 parishes
- Habitats
- 10

At a glance
- Group
- Birds
- Here
- Winter
- Nesting
- Not known to nest here
- Range
- All 64 parishes
- Habitats
- 10
- Habitat models
- Winter
Where it lives
The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.
Habitats in Louisiana 10
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.
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.
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.
Flat, poorly drained uplands and terraces with oaks, sweetgum and sometimes loblolly pine, wet in winter and dry in summer, but neither a floodplain nor a swamp.
Flat, sandy Coastal Plain pine woodlands, wetter than sandhills and denser than savannas.
Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.
Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.
Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Other habitats in its models (59)
Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Louisiana. Those recorded in Louisiana first, the rest by region.
Elsewhere in the South (27)
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Indian River Lagoon Tidal Marsh Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Large Natural Lakeshore Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest Winter, only within 120 m of water.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods 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 Maritime Forest Winter, only within 120 m of water.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest Winter, only within 120 m of water.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Savanna and Wet Prairie Winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest Winter.
- Floridian Highlands Freshwater Marsh Winter.
- Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and 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.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie Winter, only within 120 m of water.
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 (28)
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Depression Pondshore 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.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall 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 - Forest Modifier 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.
- 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.
Seasons in Louisiana
- Winter: does not nest here, in all 64 parishes.
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 Louisiana.
Plant genera in its diet records (1)
- Zea 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Louisiana
Also found in its main habitats
Its main habitats in Louisiana, 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.
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Birds 124
- Black-chinned HummingbirdArchilochus alexandri
- VeeryCatharus fuscescens
- Red-breasted NuthatchSitta canadensis
- Willow FlycatcherEmpidonax traillii
- Worm-eating WarblerHelmitheros vermivorum
- Bell's VireoVireo bellii
- Louisiana WaterthrushSeiurus motacilla
- Northern ParulaParula americana
- Prothonotary WarblerProtonotaria citrea
- Acadian FlycatcherEmpidonax virescens
- AnhingaAnhinga anhinga
- Broad-winged HawkButeo platypterus
Plants 267
- Elliott's BlueberryVaccinium elliottii
- Possumhaw HollyIlex decidua
- Cherrybark OakQuercus pagoda
- Shagbark HickoryCarya ovata
- PondberryLindera melissifolia
- Blunt Broom SedgeCarex tribuloides
- Louisiana SedgeCarex louisianica
- Smooth Hedge-nettleStachys tenuifolia
- Common Cup-plantSilphium perfoliatum
- Heartleaf NettleUrtica chamaedryoides
- Clustered FescueFestuca paradoxa
- American BladdernutStaphylea trifolia
Pine flatwoods
Birds 81
- Burrowing OwlAthene cunicularia
- Red-cockaded WoodpeckerPicoides borealis
- Brown-headed NuthatchSitta pusilla
- Bachman's SparrowAimophila aestivalis
- Northern WaterthrushSeiurus noveboracensis
- Pine WarblerDendroica pinus
- Barred OwlStrix varia
- Bewick's WrenThryomanes bewickii
- Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis
- MerlinFalco columbarius
- White-breasted NuthatchSitta carolinensis
- Mississippi KiteIctinia mississippiensis
Plants 106
- Savanna Yellow-eyed-grassXyris flabelliformis
- Dwarf MilkwortSenega nana
- Dwarf Live OakQuercus minima
- Slash PinePinus elliottii
- Shining FetterbushLyonia lucida
- Pineland St. John's-wortHypericum suffruticosum
- Roundpod St. John's-wortHypericum cistifolium
- Slimleaf Tick-trefoilDesmodium tenuifolium
- Camphor PlucheaPluchea camphorata
- Clasping-leaf St. John's-wortHypericum gymnanthum
- Savanna SeedboxLudwigia virgata
- Seaside SeedboxLudwigia maritima
Swamps
Birds 135
- Seaside SparrowAmmodramus maritimus
- Wilson's PloverCharadrius wilsonia
- Eurasian WigeonAnas penelope
- Louisiana WaterthrushSeiurus motacilla
- Northern ParulaParula americana
- Prothonotary WarblerProtonotaria citrea
- Rose-breasted GrosbeakPheucticus ludovicianus
- Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpres
- Acadian FlycatcherEmpidonax virescens
- AnhingaAnhinga anhinga
- DunlinCalidris alpina
- Glossy IbisPlegadis falcinellus
Plants 237
- Black Highbush BlueberryVaccinium fuscatum
- Dahoon HollyIlex cassine
- May HawthornCrataegus aestivalis
- Dense-flower SmartweedPersicaria densiflora
- Carolina AshFraxinus caroliniana
- Water HickoryCarya aquatica
- Swamp TupeloNyssa biflora
- Bent SedgeCarex styloflexa
- Cypress-swamp SedgeCarex joorii
- Dark-green SedgeCarex venusta
- Fringed SedgeCarex crinita
- Ravenfoot SedgeCarex crus-corvi
Sources
- USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models (2001)
- USGS GAP winter habitat model for Rusty Blackbird Fresh water only
- USGS Gap Analysis Project range maps (2001), modeled by watershed; migratory gives no dates
- NatureServe Explorer (CC BY 4.0), habitat names
- US Census TIGER/Line counties
- Names follow the USGS Gap Analysis Project (2001)
- Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab) (CC0 1.0), diet records by plant genus




























































