The Common Grackle is such a gorgeous bird, large (11 -13 inches), iridescent blue black head and a purple brown body with a long black tail. I must admit I'm in love with the Grackle maybe only to say the name makes me smile, because grackle what a name! This beauty hangs out mostly on the ground, he forages in shallow water, fields and at feeders. They are omnivorous birds meaning they eat anything from insects to minnows frogs seeds fruit and even eggs.
I might also like them a little bit because they keep the Starling population down when they show up. Since they mostly feed on the ground they do not disturb the smaller birds at the feeders,(which again is another reason to love these birds). For Many days I attempted to get some pictures of them, every time I came out with my camera they disappeared. As soon as I went into the house there would be 5 or 6 of them out in the yard. The first few days it was just cold or windy to sit out and wait for them to get used to me being there, finally yesterday it turned and I could sit and wait them out. I was able to get some great shots of them, it was well worth the wait.
So let us find out the details of this gorgeous bird, the male is bigger than the female otherwise there is no difference in looking at them. They are 11 - 13 inches or 28 - 33 cm, they are black with that beautiful iridescent head. They have bright yellow eyes, a long thin bill and a long black tail. When flying they have almost always a level flight pattern. The Grackle is a permanent resident in its range. Northern Grackles will migrate in flocks to the southwestern states. The Grackles nest is a cup shape and well concealed in shrub areas or pine trees. They like to nest near water, they will nest in man made structures also. They have 2 clutches per year with 4 to 5 greenish white eggs with brown speckles. The male and female feed the young it takes 13 to 14 days to incubate.
The vocals of this bird is where it gets the latin name "to cough", it also has the ability to mimic other birds and even humans. The Grackle also has a sound like a power line buzzing. The common Grackle has benefited from human expansion, they are a very adaptable to their surroundings. The Grackle is resourceful and is opportunistic that is how they have managed to survive. Farmers have found them to be pests because of their love for grain. Even though they are a very adaptable bird their numbers are down by 61% to a population of 73 million from the historic high of over 190 million.
So there you have what I have learned about the common Grackle, my information comes from www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Grackle and from Birds of Missouri Field Guide by Stan Tekiela
All photos were taken by me @pinkdragonfly with my Cannon EOS Rebel T2i
So if you want to have a little laughter in your day say this out loud grackle grackle grackle if nothing else it will put a smile on your face @r0nd0n