Stats

Lifespan: 2-9 yrs
Size: Small
Diet: Omnivore
Activity: Diurnal
Social: Flock
Biome: Freshwater wetland
Range: North America
Movement: Flight
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Herd Safety
Status: Common

About

The male sports vivid scarlet-and-yellow shoulder patches—epaulettes he can conceal or boldly display to defend territory against dozens of rivals. One of the most abundant birds in North America, it nests colonially in marshes and meadows from Alaska to Costa Rica.

Life cycle

1.
egg
A small clutch of speckled eggs is incubated in a cup nest, turned and kept warm by the parent.
2.
hatchling
A pink, blind hatchling is fed by its parents in the nest, gaping its bill at every visit.
3.
juvenile
A feathered juvenile fledges from the nest, learning to fly and to forage close to its parents.
4.
adult
Fully grown with adult plumage and song.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Icteridae
Genus: Agelaius
Species: Agelaius phoeniceus