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  Profile

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  In flight

Songbirds

Common Grackle

Quiscalus quiscula

• rare
• 55 km/h
• Near Threatened

Long-tailed, oil-slick iridescent, alarmingly intelligent. Will hold a grudge if you skimp on tip.

Population

Roughly 65-73 million individuals (BirdLife/IUCN 2018 assessment cites ~69 million mature / ~103.5 million total individuals as of 2016), down sharply from historic highs over 190 million

Habitat

Open and semi-open areas across eastern North America — farmland, suburban lawns, parks, marshes, orchards, and woodland edges — nesting in dense trees (especially conifers) or shrubs, usually near water

Fun fact

The Common Grackle has a hard keel-like ridge on the inside of its upper mandible that it uses to saw open acorns by holding the nut in place and cutting through the shell.

Range

Eastern North America east of the Rocky Mountains, from southern Canada through the Great Plains and Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast; northern populations migrate south for winter while Gulf Coast/southeastern populations are largely year-round residents

Diet

Omnivorous: mainly insects and other invertebrates during breeding season (also small vertebrates like fish, frogs, and mice); grains, corn, acorns, and seeds during migration and winter; also fruit, eggs and nestlings of other birds, and garbage/agricultural waste

Size

0.31 m

Wingspan

0.41 m

Lifespan

22 years