The Howland
Picture Pages: Common Grackle The Howland
Picture Pages: Common GracklePage by Royce
Last update: $Date: 2004/10/23 18:56:29 $ (UTC)
The Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) is a large, colorful Icterid. Of the three North American grackle species, this is the only one with range in our area of southern Alberta, or anywhere else in Canada. Like their blackbird relatives, Common Grackles are often found in large flocks. In fact they often flock with various blackbirds including Brewer's Blackbirds and Rusty Blackbirds. Grackles can be told apart from blackbirds by their larger size and longer tail feathers. Grackles also have much heavier bills than is true of blackbirds.
We often see Common Grackles in our back yard and elsewhere around Calgary during spring and fall migration. At such times it is not uncommon to have a flock of 40 or more of the birds bustling around in the mature spruce trees, or eating at the feeders. They are active and quite raucous, and can be fun to watch, unless perhaps a flock of them lived in one's back yard for an extended period of time -- they do tend to go through a lot of seed and drive other birds away.
The Common Grackle has been expanding its range from east to west, and is a bird species that has been benefiting from human impact. This bird is very adaptive and can find food in all kinds of places and forms, not minding at all if humans make it easier for it to find something to eat.
Resources where you can find out more:
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Here is a Common Grackle seen October 15, 2004 as part of a larger flock of about 40 or so that moved through a Calgary back yard location in the period of a few minutes. This one perched momentarily on the peak of a house roof, nicely set off against the backdrop of fall leaves. This photo was taken with a Canon EOS 10D + EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens, hand-held.
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Here is a Common Grackle spotted on October 13, 2004. The shot is a blurred because the light was low, and the bird was bouncing around on its tree branch. I liked the effect of the blurred body but sharp eye on this shot. This photo was taken with a Canon EOS 10D + EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens, hand-held.
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This is a shot of another Common Grackle in the same flock as the previous individual. Note the crossed tips of the bill on this bird, looking like those of a crossbill.
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