red-winged blackbird

noun

ˈred-ˌwiŋd- 

: a North American blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) of which the adult male is black with a patch of bright scarlet at the bend of the wings bordered behind with yellow or buff

called also redwing blackbird

Examples of red-winged blackbird in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Males and females of other species, such as the red-winged blackbird, a common denizen of lakes and marshes, also use habitat in different ways. —Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 July 2023

In fact, on New Year’s Eve 2010, about 5,000 red-winged blackbirds died when professional fireworks were illegally set off in Arkansas. —Mary Jo Dilonardo, Treehugger, 28 June 2023

Flocks of birds are settling in — swallows, wrens, ducks, egrets, chattering red-winged blackbirds. —Shawn Hubler Mark Abramson, New York Times, 25 June 2023

There are red-winged blackbirds in the reeds. —John Kelly, Washington Post, 5 Apr. 2023

The arrival of a red-winged blackbird in the first few weeks of March, for example, is a promising clue that spring is headed to the Northeast. —Time, 14 Nov. 2022

The red-winged blackbird was selected by McFadden to ease readers outside since these abounding birds can also be found in duckweed swamps and soggy roadsides as well as atop telephone wires. —oregonlive, 22 Mar. 2021

Odds are good to spot a great blue heron and certainly a red-winged blackbird. —Mare Czinar, The Arizona Republic, 6 June 2022

Researchers studying yellow warbler responses to the parasitic cowbird realized that red-winged blackbirds were eavesdropping and reacting too. —Jason G. Goldman, Scientific American, 13 Apr. 2020

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Word History

First Known Use

circa 1769, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

red-winged blackbird

noun

ˌred-ˌwiŋd-

: an American blackbird of which the adult male is black with a patch of bright red on the wing

called also redwing blackbird