Red-winged blackbirds are a common sight across much of North America. These striking birds are medium-sized songbirds with jet-black bodies and bright red shoulder patches bordered with yellow called epaulets. Their scientific name is Agelaius phoeniceus. With their melodious songs and flashy plumage, redwings add beauty and character to wetlands, fields, and backyards across their range. However, they also have a reputation as agricultural pests, feasting on crops like rice, sunflowers, and corn. This leads many people to wonder – do red-winged blackbirds also eat peanuts in the shell? Let’s take a closer look at the diet, behavior, and preferences of these charismatic birds to find out.
The Diet of Red-Winged Blackbirds
Red-winged blackbirds are omnivores that eat a wide variety of plant and animal material. This gives them great flexibility to take advantage of many different food sources. Their diet shifts depending on habitat, season, and food availability. But some key components include:
– Seeds and Grains – Redwings eat lots of seeds from grasses, sedges, agricultural grains like rice and corn, and even fruits like blackberries and sumac. They use their strong conical bill to crack open seeds and remove hulls.
– Insects – Redwings eat bugs like beetles, dragonflies, grasshoppers, spiders, and caterpillars. They capture insects from foliage or on the ground. In summer, insects can make up over half their diet.
– Grain and Fruit – Redwings often feed on cultivated grains like rice, oats, and sunflowers. They also eat fruits like sumac, dogwood, and blackberry. They cause significant agricultural damage when feeding in large flocks.
– Aquatic Prey – Redwings snatch small fish, tadpoles, mollusks, and other aquatic invertebrates from water. This provides an important source of protein.
– Bird Eggs and Nestlings – When breeding, redwings may eat eggs and chicks of other bird species. This includes marsh-nesting songbirds near their territory.
– Carrion – Redwings scavenge on carcasses of small dead animals. This provides a source of fat and protein.
As omnivores, redwings can adapt to take advantage of seasonal abundances of different food sources. But seeds, grains, and insects make up the bulk of their diet in most regions.
Do Redwings Eat Peanuts?
Red-winged blackbirds will readily eat peanuts when they find them. However, they are unlikely to be able to open peanuts still in the shell. Here’s some more information on redwings and peanuts:
– Redwings will eat shelled peanut pieces at bird feeders or scattered on the ground. Their strong conical bill easily cracks apart the peanut and accesses the nutmeat inside.
– They have difficulty opening an intact peanut in the shell. Their bills lack the leverage and strength to pry open an entire unshelled peanut.
– They may try pecking at the shell but are unlikely to hammer it open like woodpeckers can. Redwings don’t have the specialized head muscles and skull to sustain this type of feeding.
– At feeders, redwings prefer smaller seeds they can quickly husk like millet, cracked corn kernels, and nyjer thistle. They avoid larger nuts in shells.
– Flocks in agricultural fields will feed on harvested peanut litters on the ground. But they eat loose shelled nuts rather than whole peanuts.
So while redwings readily eat shelled peanut pieces, they lack the physical adaptations to open an intact peanut in the shell. Only birds like crows, jays, and woodpeckers with more robust bills can easily feed on unshelled peanuts. Redwings prefer small grains and seeds they can quickly husk and consume.
Redwing Feeding Behavior
To better understand why redwings likely don’t eat in-shell peanuts, let’s take a closer look at some key aspects of their feeding behavior:
– Social foragers – Redwings often forage in large flocks, especially outside of breeding season. This allows them to find and exploit rich food sources.
– Wide foraging range – Flocks may travel over 15 miles a day from roost sites to feed. This lets them take advantage of scattered food sources.
– Mostly ground feeders – Redwings spend much of their time feeding on the ground versus in trees and shrubs. This allows them to eat grains, seeds, and insects.
– Rapid consumption – Redwings can quickly pick up and husk small seeds. This lets them maximize calorie intake compared to slowly feeding on large nuts or seeds.
– Bills adapted for cracking – Their conical bill shape is ideal for removing hulls and cracking open small seeds. But they lack the strength and leverage for breaking hard shells.
– Opportunistic diet – Redwings eat a wide array of plant and animal foods depending on availability. This flexibility allows them to exploit seasonal food sources.
Given their behavior as social, ground-feeding, opportunistic foragers adapted for eating small grains and seeds, unshelled peanuts are unlikely to be an efficient or worthwhile food source for redwings. They prefer foods they can quickly husk and consume.
Better Food Choices for Redwings
If you want to attract redwings to your yard or offer them supplemental food, here are some better options than unshelled peanuts:
– Sunflower seeds – A favorite food and easy for redwings to husk and eat. Offer black-oil sunflower seeds in feeders or scattered on the ground.
– Cracked corn – The small broken kernels are easy for redwings to pick up and consume. An economical choice for spreading in yards or fields.
– Millet – The tiny seeds of millet are a redwing favorite. Scatter millet on ground or offer in platform feeders.
– Nyjer thistle – The small, black thistle seeds have high calories. Use special mesh feeders to contain the tiny seeds.
– Chopped peanuts – Redwings will readily eat bite-size peanut bits. Chopped nuts attract a variety of birds.
– Mealworms – Live or dried mealworms offer essential protein. Place them in platform or tube feeders.
– Fruit – Chopped fruits like apples, oranges, or bananas will attract redwings. Skewer pieces onto branches or fence posts.
A mix of seeds, grains, and chopped nuts will please both redwings and other backyard birds. Avoid whole nuts in shells that redwings can’t open. With the right foods offered, you’ll be rewarded with vibrant flocks feasting at feeders and on the ground.
Potential Problems of Redwings at Feeders
While their beauty and boisterous flocks are appealing, red-winged blackbirds also pose some potential downsides:
– Dominate bird feeders – Aggressive males often chase away smaller songbirds and monopolize feeders.
– Leave a mess – Redwings scatter uneaten food from feeders onto the ground, leaving cleanup.
– Eat a lot – Big flocks can quickly gobble up feeder food, increasing costs.
– Damage crops – Flocks cause extensive agricultural damage, especially to grains and rice.
– Parasites and disease – Wetlands frequented by redwings can harbor parasites and avian diseases.
– Nest attacks – Territorial males will fiercely attack perceived threats near their nests.
Ways to deter overly-bold redwings include:
– Use tube or sheltered feeders that exclude larger birds.
– Avoid placing feeders near prime redwing habitat like wetlands.
– Take feeders down at night when blackbirds roost.
– Use deterrents like rubber snakes, aluminum pie plates, or water spray devices.
– Plant hedges or fencing to block sight lines to limit attacks by territorial males.
The acrobatic aerial displays, boisterous calls, and flashy plumage make redwings a favorite backyard bird for many. But their aggressive behavior, crop damage, and other issues can cause problems. Careful feeder placement and deterrents can reduce unwanted behaviors.
Conclusion
In summary, while red-winged blackbirds will readily eat many nut varieties and agricultural grains, they are unlikely to feed on peanuts still in the shell. Redwings lack the powerful bills to pry open an intact peanut shell to access the seed inside. Their conical beaks are adapted for rapidly husking small seeds and grains from plants. Although opportunistic omnivores, redwings focus most of their feeding on the ground where they can find insects, grains, and weed seeds. So while shelled peanut pieces make a fine supplemental food, whole unshelled peanuts are not actually an attractive or efficient food source for redwings. If you want to attract these striking birds, offering millet, sunflower seeds, chopped nuts, and other small grains and seeds will yield better results. Just be aware of some of the potential downsides of large flocks of redwings when making feeding choices.