Common Grackle

Common Grackle, adult male bronzed form

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Common Grackle female, coastal race

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A familiar sight on suburban lawns, the Common Grackle can be recognized by its iridescent purple and bronze plumage and long, keel-shaped tail. It's expanding its range into the far West, but is most common in the East.

Description

• Large blackbird.
• Iridescent black all over.
• Long tail, keel-shaped in flight.
• Eyes yellow.

• Size: 28-34 cm (11-13 in)
• Wingspan: 36-46 cm (14-18 in)
• Weight: 74-142 g (2.61-5.01 ounces)

Sex Differences

Female slightly smaller and less glossy.

Sound

Song a harsh, unmusical "readle-eak," like a rusty gate. Call a sharp, harsh "chack."

Conservation Status

Abundant and widespread, extending its range west. Eastern populations declining from an all-time high that occurred around 1970.

Other Names

Quiscale bronzé (French)
Zanate norteño (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• The Common Grackle is an opportunistic forager, taking advantage of whatever food sources it can find. It will follow plows for invertebrates and mice, wade into water to catch small fish, and sometimes kill and eat other birds at bird feeders.

• The Common Grackle commonly engages in anting, allowing ants to crawl on its body and secrete formic acid, possibly to rid the body of parasites. In addition to ants, it has been seen using walnut juice, lemons and limes, marigold blossoms, choke cherries, and mothballs in a similar fashion.

• The Common Grackle has benefited from human activities. The clearing of the Eastern forests was to its liking. The expansion of agriculture, along with the use of mechanical crop harvesters, improved overwinter survival by increasing the supply of waste grain. In the West, the Common Grackle has moved into new areas by following the planting of ornamental trees.

Sources used to construct this page:

Peer, B. D., and E. K. Bollinger. 1997. Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula). In The Birds of North America, No. 271 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornthologists' Union, Washington, D.C.