Once They Were Sentinels in the Coal Mines

 

 My husband said I should have titled this blog "The Harbingers."  These noisy and aggressive birds are found pretty much anywhere across the U.S. They are a blackbird, Quiscalus quiscula, and some find them a real bother at the feeders. My husband had a neighbor when he was growing up in Florida who used to take a spoon and pan and bang on it to drive the grackles from the trees in her yard. I question who was the noisier and more disturbing even though their song is somewhat harsh and squeaky.  You might mistake them for a crow, but they are not nearly as large or full in body shape.  I cannot honestly tell you if mine are the boat-tail ones, but they may be.  But spring is the time of the year when they show up in the dozens.

According to Cornell:  "You might see a Common Grackle hunched over on the ground, wings spread, letting ants crawl over its body and feathers. This is called anting, and grackles are frequent practitioners among the many bird species that do it. The ants secrete formic acid, the chemical in their stings, and this may rid the bird of parasites. In addition to ants, grackles have been seen using walnut juice, lemons and limes, marigold blossoms, chokecherries, and mothballs in a similar fashion."

Most people fail to see how beautiful these birds are unless seen in the correct light.

This above was taken through my window, because, like crows, they are very wary of man and farmers find them terrible pests in the corn fields.  Some are documented to live over 20 years...so I am sure they remember their enemies.

Their beady yellow eyes are off-putting and they do not take any argument from other birds.  My daughter said they have the color of gasoline.  Actually they do!