Common Does Not Always Mean Ordinary! Grackles Are Much More
Sometimes, looks can be deceiving. Sometimes, what you think you see, at first glance, can be far from what is really there. We see this in nature most often in many forms, such as mimicry and camouflage. Another place we see this is in something we don’t think much about, until spring and summer at Harmony Hill, iridescence. Sure, we see those shiny and blazing ruby throats on the male hummingbirds that breed here. But some of the best representations we see of iridescence are found on a common bird that is often seen as a “pest” or “trash bird”. Let’s take a look at a common bird with unexpected beauty, the Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula).
Now, before you say to me, “That bird isn’t pretty.”, or, “Why would you spotlight such an aggravating bird?”, allow us to open your eyes to the wonders of this oft maligned avian smartie!
There are three grackle species that breed in North America: Common Grackle, Boat-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus major) and Great-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus). There are three other grackle species that can be found from Central America and the Greater Antilles, into South America; Carib Grackle (Quiscalus lugubris), Greater Antillean Grackle (Quiscalus niger) and Nicaraguan Grackle (Quiscalus nicaraguensis), Along with an extinct Mexican species, the Slender-billed Grackle (Quiscalus palustris), these species make up the entirety of grackle genus.
Grackles are all New World species and are part of the Icteridae (Blackbird) family of birds. The genus name of Quiscalus is most likely a nod to the Jackdaw (Corvus monedula), a European corvid that early visitors to the New World may have thought Grackles were related. The Latin name for Jackdaw was “graculus”, giving the Common Grackle both its genus AND its species name!
A very quick aside about the blackbird family name of Icteridae… many species of birds in this family don’t just exhibit black or dark plumage. Some species have prominent yellow and yellow-orange feathers. As it so happens, the Greek word “ikteros” means “suffering of jaundice”, a direct reference to the yellow plumage found on many of the members of this family!
Now that we’ve gotten to know the family, let’s focus in on the Common Grackle. Grackles are not universally loved… this much we know. They can gather in large flocks, and, in the case of the Great-tailed Grackle (and even the Boat-tailed Grackle), they can stream into parking lots by the dozens and hundreds. Long before they flocked to parking lots, their gatherings were surrounded by superstition and fear, particularly in the southeastern United States. Old wives’ tales have been told for generations that “blackbird flocks” brought disease or even impending death. These superstitions persist to the point that flocks of grackles are called “a plague” or “a nuisance”.
Very quick debunking of these old wives’ tales… there is NO scientific evidence that these birds bring sickness, disease or death! That is why we refer to these things as superstitions and not facts!
Common Grackles are most often found near wetlands, lakes, rivers, streams and swamps. And, yes, they can flock in some impressive numbers. Most often found in mixed flocks during the winter, it is not uncommon to find Common Grackles flocking with Rusty Blackbirds, Brown-headed Cowbirds, European Starlings and even American Robins in numbers that can reach 100,000 individuals.
They are the very definition of omnivorous, eating anything that will fit in their mouths. Berries, insects, spiders, small fish, amphibians, small reptiles, bird eggs, and even human garbage are readily eaten.
Remember we mentioned being smarties? How they forage and eat shows a higher level of intelligence than many birds possess. First of all, they walk around as they forage. You read that right, they walk! They do not hop or jump around they walk. Secondly, they will readily wade out into shallow water and search for frogs, fish or, in the case of our photos, mussels. The bird in the accompanying photos is dining on invasive Asian Clams (Corbicula fluminea) it is capturing in a couple inches of water.
When some food items are found to be too dry, Common Grackles will readily soak the food in water to soften it or make it more palatable. They have also known to steal food from other animals, such as worms from American Robins.
Did we happen to mention that some grackle species will often help each other in their flocks? Cooperation is nothing new for these birds, as they will share roosting sites and even food with members of their flock. That can occasionally include other species of birds; so, they’re not all about taking from others.
Next, let’s focus on the most eye-catching part of the male Common Grackle, the iridescent plumage that provides some of the most beautiful purples, bronzes and turquoises you’ll ever see. When you first look at Common Grackles, they appear to be little more than a dark bird, with your first inclination to be writing it off as a drab black bird. However, with just a turn of the head or body, they will prove you wrong!
And it’s in that turn that we learn the science behind their beauty and the secret to their plumage. Some birds are colored by pigments, like carotenoids, melanins, and porphyrines in their feathers. (We’ll do a post on just those three feather properties in a future installment!) Some birds appear to be certain colors because of how their feathers are constructed or lay on their bodies.
Most birds colored blue owe that blue tint to the way their feathers hold air in the feather and away from their bodies. Blue Jays, Bluebirds and Indigo Buntings aren’t really blue, it’s just the way their feathers scatter light and reflect back shades of blue. Don’t believe me? Next time you find a Blue Jay feather, turn it over and look at it. It’s black. Turn it back right-side-up and you’ll see the blue refraction. Even tilting the feather at a different angle will darken the appearance and remove the blue from your view.
Grackle feathers do something similar, but completely different! Like the gorget (throat) feathers of many hummingbirds, grackle feathers are little more than feathered prisms, giving various iridescent sheens in different light. The angle the bird is from you, as well as the angle of the light, dictates the changing shimmers of color you see!
Take a look at the photos and you’ll see everything from nothing but pure black feathers to a veritable rainbow of color shining in the afternoon sunlight!
A bird, surrounded by superstition and disliked for their large flocks; yet also is quite intelligent and has a beautiful iridescent sheen. That is a bird that should be celebrated and not clouded by dislike, if you ask me. I mean, just look at the colors that pop on that Icteridae!