Euphagus carolinus

An adult male rusty blackbird currently visiting Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge in the west desert has local birders all atwitter. "Why," you ask? This bird is classified as "accidental" in Utah.

Field birders understand the accidental classification to mean "not expected and out of normal range with few records." This will be a bird that many will be able to add to their life list. The last documented rusty blackbird in Utah was on the Riverdale Parkway along the Weber River in February 2004.

Male rusty blackbirds are primarily black. However, the bird gets its name from the rusty wash seen in its winter plumage. This rust plumage is found on the top of the head and back of the neck and upper back. Males also display a black loral mask. The eye is yellow.

Females have a gray rump in fall plumage with cinnamon-gray supercilium and under parts.

The rusty blackbird's normal range is throughout Canada and Alaska during the breeding season. It winters in the southeastern U.S. to northern Florida.

Rusty blackbirds are gregarious, forming large foraging flocks in its winter range. They prefer wetland marsh habitats, wet woodland, and agricultural fields. They feed on insects, small fish, snails, grain and seeds.

If you go looking for the bird at the refuge, be sure to have a good spare tire. A good part of the trip is a gravel road. To get there from Salt Lake City, take I-80 West to Tooele. Take State Road 36 south for approximately 26 miles and turn right on the Pony Express route. Go 79 miles on the gravel road to the refuge.

From Delta, go northeast on US 6 approximately 9 miles and turn west on State Road 174. Travel 58 miles to the Pony Express route and turn left. Travel 20 miles to the refuge.

Bill Fenimore is owner of the Layton Wild Bird Center, www.wildbird.com/layton, and author of Backyard Birds of Utah.