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Common Grackle

Quiscalus quisculaOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Blackbirds and Orioles (Icteridae)

Common Grackle Portrait
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General

Common Grackle: Medium-sized blackbird with metallic purple sheen on back, head, neck, and breast. Eyes are bright yellow. Central feathers of long, rounded tail are often lowered to show keeled V-shape. Female is smaller and duller. Juvenile is dark brown with dark eyes.

Range and Habitat

Common Grackle: Resident throughout Florida; breeds throughout North America east of the Rocky Mountains and south of tundra. Inhabits fields, wet meadows, urban areas, shorelines and willow shrublands up to the lower subalpine.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"swaaaack"

Interesting Facts

 Grackles actually walk instead of hop.

 In coastal areas they forage at the tide line for small invertebrates, even wading into the water to capture live fish.

 Adults sometimes function as helpers to other birds of the species.

 They allow ants to crawl on their bodies and secrete formic acid, possibly to rid themselves of parasites.



Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Common Grackle
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family Orioles and Blackbirds (Icteridae)_blue
Species Quiscalus quiscula
Length11 - 13.5 Inches
Wingspan17.75 Inches

Common Grackle

Common Grackle: Medium-sized blackbird with metallic purple sheen on back, head, neck, and breast. Eyes are bright yellow. Central feathers of long, rounded tail are often lowered to show keeled V-shape. Swift, strong direct flight with rapid wing beats, holds tail folded in a V shape while flying.

● Song: "swaaaack"

● Foraging & Feeding: Common Grackle: Diet includes insects, bird eggs and nestlings, lizards, fish, fruits, and seeds.

● Breeding & nesting: Common Grackle: Four to seven light brown or green eggs with brown and purple markings are laid in a bulky cup made of twigs, grass, mud, feathers, and occasionally trash. Nest is built in a tree 2 to12 feet above the ground. Incubation ranges from 12 to 14 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Common Grackle: Male Great-tailed and Boat-tailed grackles are larger and have longer tails.

Flight Pattern

Strong swift direct flight on rapidly beating wings.
Common Grackle Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Common Grackle: Resident throughout Florida; breeds throughout North America east of the Rocky Mountains and south of tundra. Inhabits fields, wet meadows, urban areas, shorelines and willow shrublands up to the lower subalpine.
BreedingMonogamous, Colonial
PopulationAbundant
MigrationMigratory
Weight4.5 Ounces