• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
Cramp, S. and Simmons, K.E.L. (eds). 1977-1994. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The birds of the western Palearctic. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A., Fishpool, L.D.C., Boesman, P. and Kirwan, G.M. 2016. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	A2cde+3cde+4cde

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2020	Vulnerable	A2cde+3cde+4cde
2018	Vulnerable	A2cde+3cde+4cde
2016	Vulnerable	A2cde+3cde+4cde
2012	Vulnerable	A2cde+3cde+4cde
2008	Vulnerable	A2c,d,e; A3c,d,e; A4c,d,e
2007	Vulnerable
2004	Least Concern
2000	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	high
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	11,300,000 km2	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	3,790,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	unknown	poor	estimated	2007
Population trend	decreasing	medium	estimated	2014-2024
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	30-49%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	30-49%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	30-49%	-	-	-
Generation length	2.8 years	-	-	-

Population justification: The population is estimated to number anywhere between 0.2-2 million individuals (R. Greenberg in litt. 2006, Scarl 2013), although a lack of accurate population surveys render this estimate highly uncertain. Further research to accurately quantify this species's population size is a pressing requirement.

Trend justification: The Christmas Bird Count currently estimates population declines of ~4.61% per year for E. carolinus throughout Canada, where the majority of this species's breeding range lies; equable to a ~37.6% decline over the stipulated ten year period (Meehan et al. 2018). Declines in the USA are however, estimated to be lower, just ~1.46% per year, or 13.7% over ten years. This is reflected in the Partners in Flight (2019) estimated rate of annual decline of ~2.50%, or 22.4% across the decade. Accurate quantitative estimates of this species's population size and trends are difficult to come by, therefore by interpreting the above estimates, it is tentatively assumed that E. carolinus is declining at a rate in excess of >30% per decade due to the high rates of past decline and rapid reductions currently ongoing throughout its breeding range. More accurate quantification of such trends should constitute an urgent research priority however.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Canada	extant	native		yes		yes
Greenland (to Denmark)	extant	vagrant
Mexico	extant	vagrant
Russia	extant	vagrant
Russia (Asian)	extant	vagrant
St Pierre and Miquelon (to France)	extant	native		yes		yes
USA	extant	native		yes	yes	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
USA	Cape Island and Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area
USA	Cowles Bog - Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
USA	Donnelly Wildlife Management Area
USA	Great Dismal Swamp (VA)
USA	Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge
USA	Kankakee River Fish and Wildlife Area
USA	Lake Conestee Nature Park
USA	Lower C & O Canal
USA	Lower Rappahannock River
USA	Mattaponi and Pamunkey Rivers
USA	Monroe Lake
USA	Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge
USA	Phinizy Swamp
USA	Wapanocca National Wildlife Refuge
USA	Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge
USA	Willow Slough Fish and Wildlife Area

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Urban Areas	marginal	non-breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands	major	breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands	major	non-breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)	major	breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)	major	non-breeding
Altitude		Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Persecution/control	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species mortality
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Natural system modifications	Dams & water management/use - Abstraction of surface water (commercial use)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Pollution	Air-borne pollutants - Acid rain	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Pollution	Industrial & military effluents - Type Unknown/Unrecorded	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Residential & commercial development	Housing & urban areas	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Majority (50-90%)		Rapid Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Transportation & service corridors	Utility & service lines	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion, Species mortality

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Rusty Blackbird Euphagus carolinus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/rusty-blackbird-euphagus-carolinus on 22/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 22/12/2024.