Grackles are hated by many as they can arrive in large flocks and caw, caw, caw you to death. The sound is that of a rusty hinge being pushed back and forth in the wind. I knew a little old lady in Florida who used to bang on a pot to get them out of her mango tree. Her neighbors thought the persistent clanging noise that she made with her kitchen utensils was worse than the birds calling to each other! Grackles are not Crows or Blackbirds but are actually related to members of the Meadowlark and Oriole family. If you do not look closely you will miss the rainbow of blues and purples that make up their dark effervescent cloak.
Yes, they chase away the songbirds, but everyone gets their place on this earth.
Here it's starlings that act that way. They come in huge flocks and are noisy. They, too, have very subtle coloring, usually looking brownish/blackish because we never really see them up close.
ReplyDeleteThey can certainly eat a lot of seeds in a hurry. we see them mostly in the fall migration.
ReplyDeleteAll of the dark, cawing birds fascinate me. Almost all of them are very, very smart.
ReplyDeleteoh yeah, they swoop down in large noisy groups. excellent shot showing their beautiful iridescence.
ReplyDeleteI like grackles, personally.
ReplyDeleteThey have personality much like watching a gang of cats flying.
ReplyDeleteLovely photos
I recall how noisy the grackles and the starlings were.
ReplyDeletePerfection Tabor, I love the Grackles, they look wide inside of you.
ReplyDeleteWow, what an amazing photo.
ReplyDeleteI love grackles and there iridescent colored feathers. When they congregate on the electric lines and talk to each other I roll down my car window just to listen to them while I sit at the light waiting for it to turn green. They are an amazining species and I did not know they they were not part of the crow family, learned something new today! Beautiful picture !!!
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