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Rusty Blackbird

Status Uncommon in summer, fairly common transient, rare in winter. Breeds. Migrants normally arrive in March (average 26 March, earliest 7 March), and numbers are generally seen from late March through mid-April. During the breeding season it is usually found about still waters or sluggish streams, more often in the interior than along the coast and, as a rule, somewhat remote from human settlements. In autumn, main migratory movements have been recorded between late September and early November, especially in early October. Stragglers have been found almost annually since 1960 on Christmas Bird Counts from Yarmouth to Cape Breton Island (24 on the Count at Bridgetown, Annapolis County, on 17 December 1977). A few have been reported from widely scattered localities during January and February, mostly at feeders, and some very early March birds (e.g., at Kejimkujik National Park on 4 March 1976) had probably wintered locally.