Common Grackle

The Common Grackle is a large, lanky member of the blackbird family, instantly recognizable by its long, wedge-shaped tail that it often holds in a distinctive V- or keel-shape while flying. At a distance it looks all black, but in good light the plumage shimmers with iridescent purple, bronze, or blue-green depending on the subspecies and angle of light.

Both sexes share the glossy plumage, though females are slightly smaller and duller. The piercing pale yellow eye stands out against the dark head and is a useful mark at any distance. Common Grackles are bold, gregarious birds often seen striding confidently across lawns and parking lots.

Key field marks

• Long, keel-shaped tail, often held in a deep V during flight
• Glossy black plumage with purple, bronze, or blue-green iridescence
• Pale yellow eyes
• Long, heavy, slightly downcurved bill

Similar species

• Brewer's Blackbird and Rusty Blackbird are smaller with shorter, more normal-shaped tails and lack the strong keeled tail shape.
• Boat-tailed and Great-tailed Grackle are larger still, with even longer tails and are largely restricted to coastal or southwestern/south-central regions, with limited range overlap.
• Female Common Grackles are duller and browner but retain the same tail shape and pale eye.

Common Grackles are widespread and abundant across the eastern two-thirds of North America, from the Gulf Coast north into central Canada, and west to the Rocky Mountains. They favor open and semi-open habitats: agricultural fields, city parks, lawns, marsh edges, and open woodlands, and readily nest in conifers, city trees, and near water.

Most northern populations migrate south for the winter, forming enormous mixed-species roosts with other blackbirds and starlings, sometimes numbering in the millions of birds, while southern populations are largely resident year-round.

Common Grackles are gregarious and often forage in large, noisy flocks on the ground, walking with a purposeful strut rather than hopping. They are opportunistic omnivores, eating insects, seeds, grain, and fruit, but also raid other birds' nests for eggs and nestlings, catch small fish or amphibians, and readily scavenge at picnic areas and feeders.

The voice is a harsh, rasping, mechanical-sounding "readle-eak," often likened to a rusty gate hinge, along with various clucks and chattering notes. Nests are bulky cups of twigs, grass, and mud built in trees or shrubs, often in loose colonies, with females typically laying four to five eggs and incubating alone, though both parents feed the young.