Common Grackle
Quiscalus quiscula
Description
12" (30 cm). Jay-sized. Long,
wedge-shaped tail displaying a longitudinal ridge or keel when in
flight. Appears all black at a distance but is actually highly
iridescent, with colors varying from blue to purple to green to
bronze, depending on the light. Bright yellow eyes. Female duller
and somewhat smaller than male.
Habitat
Lawns, parks, fields, open
woodlands.
Nesting
5 pale blue eggs, with black scrawls, in
a bulky stick nest lined with grass, placed anywhere from low in a
bush to high in a tree. Nests partly in colonies, most often in tall
evergreens.
Range
Breeds from northern Alberta, central
Ontario, and Newfoundland south to Gulf Coast states east of
Rockies, but expanding into Idaho and Washington in Northwest.
Winters north to Kansas, southern Great Lakes region, and New
England.
Voice
Clucks; high-pitched rising screech, like a
rusty hinge.
Discussion
The Common Grackle is an opportunistic
feeder, varying an insect and grain diet with crayfish, frogs, mice,
and both the eggs and the young of small birds. During courtship, it
jerks its body, lowers wing, tail, and head, and squeals. It also
exhibits its long, conspicuous tail in display flight. In some
northern areas it congregates by the thousands during migration as
well as in winter roosts. This species is smaller and lacks the
strong sex differences of the Great-tailed
Grackle.
