A Songbird with a Harsh Voice
The Grackle is a fairly common songbird, but not a very popular one. Rather than the sweet notes of the songbird, its voice is harsh. It is still considered a songbird but its predatory instincts put it in a class of its own. It will forage for food like other songbirds, feasting on seeds and fruit, but when times are tough, it will raid another birds nest eating the eggs and the young alike.
Description
The Common Grackle is a medium-large blackbird measuring 11 to 13 inches in length. They have a long dark bill, pale yellow eyes and a long keel-shaped tail. Their plumage is an iridescent black. Its black coat is glossy with a blue-green or purple sheen to it. In the West and New England there are subspecies that are more of bronze in coloring. The females are smaller and have less gloss in their plumage.
Range and Habitat
The Common Grackle is an adaptable bird and can be found almost anywhere 
but usually migrate southward during the coldest part of the winter. They prefer open areas with a scattering of coniferous trees. They can be found in farmlands, orchards and even swamplands. They are a common sight in city parks, cemeteries, and backyards.
Common Grackle
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Dramatic grackle!
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Footless grackle
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The Common Grackle's courtship dance is a series of jerky movements. With its head, tail, and wings lowered, it squeals. It's not a melodious sound, but certainly loud enough to get a female's attention!
Mating and Nesting
The Common Grackle's nest is cup shaped mass of woody stems, leaves grass, and bark. It is usually built in a well-concealed cluster of dense trees or shrubs usually near water. They will occasionally us an abandoned woodpecker cavity or move in and take over an active nest.
The female will lay 1 to 7 light bluish-gray eggs. They are incubated for 13 to 14 days and the fledglings will leave the nest within 20 days of hatching.
The Common Grackle only raises one brood per season and usually nests in large colonies.
They nest in large colonies with up to hundred pairs within a given area.
Diet
The Common Grackle is an opportunistic eater. They will forage on the ground, 
in shallow water, and bushes eating insects, minnows, frogs, berries, seeds and grain. When food is scares, smaller birds become prey. They dominate birdfeeders and can empty it within hours.
Voice
The Common Grackle's voice is very harsh, but its still considered a songbird.
Listen to the call of the Common Grackle: Sound Byte: The Common Grackle, National Park Service
Unhappy Fact
The Common Grackle is not a popular bird with the farmers. They gather in large flocks and feast on the fruits of his labors. They can cause an extensive amount of damage and eat a tremendous amount of grain.
Peterson's Field Guide to Birds
Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America (Peterson Field Guide Series)
Amazon Price: $16.38 (as of 12/19/2009)
An absolute must have for anyone with a birdfeeder and an interest in watching the birds.
Attracting Birds to Your Backyard
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Selecting a Birdbath
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The Outhouse Birdhouse
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America's 100 Most Wanted Birds
America's 100 Most Wanted Birds
Amazon Price: $18.96 (as of 12/19/2009)
If you want to see a gyrfalcon or a fork-tailed flycatcher, this resource might be your best help in spotting them. Mostly for serious birders intent on adding species to their life lists, America's 100 Most Wanted Birds provides detailed strategies for locating 100 of the most uncommon-to-rare bird species in the United States.
Some of My Favorite Backyard Birds
The Bold and BeautifulThe American Goldfinch
The Blue Jay
The Northern Cardinal
Cheerful Singers
The European Starling
The Northern Mockingbird
The American Robin
The Shy Ones
The Eastern Bluebird
The Carolina Wren
What interesting birds have you seen?
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Reply
- mulberry mulberry Aug 10, 2009 @ 8:19 pm
- I wasn't sure if I had seen these are not, but when I listened to them, it was very, very familiar! Interesting lens.
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Reply
- hlkljgk hlkljgk May 20, 2009 @ 3:49 pm
- we have a few around our feeder: http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=grackle&w=52473526%40N00 feel free to use the photos here (no pressure; they're CC licensed)
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Reply
- aj2008 aj2008 May 10, 2009 @ 2:23 am
- I love the fact that you have included a recording of the bird on the lens! They are very similar to our ravens but a lot more colourful.
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Reply
- AndyPo AndyPo May 2, 2009 @ 5:24 am
- Another excellent bird lens.
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Reply
- TheGreenerMe TheGreenerMe Apr 24, 2009 @ 9:20 am
- The grackles around here in Massachusetts are a little bit darker looking. When they show up, they make a huge mess all over the place. Usually 50-100 or more perch down on the ground and all over the feeder, and they leave dropping EVERYWHERE. And to top it off, they left nice presents all over my car. Thanks grackles!
Great work here.
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About the Author
Lensmaster ElizabethJeanAllen has been a member since March 16 2008, has rated 4,011 lenses, favorited 445, and has created 200 lenses from scratch. Lizzy Jean donates their royalties to Squidoo Charity Fund. This member's top-ranked page is "2009 Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments". See all my lenses
Why Birds Do That
Why Birds Do That: 40 Distinctive Bird Behaviors Explained & Photographed
Amazon Price: $10.85 (as of 12/19/2009)
Birds are fascinating. Their behavior is complex, often comical. Some sing while others do not. Why Birds Do That explains forty distinctive bird behaviors and is enhanced with numerous photographs. It is a must have book for both the backyard bird watcher as well as the avid birder.
Resources used to construct this page.
Peterson, T.P. & Peterson, V.M. 2002. Birds of Eastern and Central North America, Fifth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, N.Y.
Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology
Seattle Audubon Society
the Common Grackle, South Dakota Birds
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by ElizabethJeanAllen
I tell my students to Learn from the Past, Live in the Present, and Plan for the Future. With Squidoo I can do all three.
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