Description: Although smaller than a robin, the males of this species are hard to miss with their bright red wing patches. The female is brownish with well-defined dark stripes. It has a distinctive onk-a-ree-a call.

Range: Canada to the West Indies and Costa Rica.

Habitat: Found in wet areas beside ponds and along the banks of slow-moving rivers.

General: Males are highly territorial and use their wing patch to attract a mate and warn other males off their territory. There is a resident population on Vancouver Island, although their numbers swell in accordance with the spring migration. These are colonial nesters and they often build rough-grass nests on two or more cattails over the water.

Bovey, Robin, Campbell, Wayne, and Gates, Brian. 1989. Birds of Victoria and Vicinity. Lone Pine Publishing. Edmonton, Alberta.

Peterson, Roger Tory. 1990. Peterson Field Guides: Western Birds. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York, New York.

Udvardy, Miklos D. F. 1994. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Western Region. Chanticlear Press, Inc. New York, New York.

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