Day 18 – Great Grackles!

What is wrong with that bird’s tail? A black bird, about the size of a crow, had its tail folded in half and the wind was blowing it sideways as it walked.

We had not seen these birds until we got to the southern portion of Texas, and then we saw them everywhere! Noisy? Yes, they were noisy with many different calls. There was a loud piercing whistle, a clacking sound, and a weird rattle sound. The rattle sounded something like a stunt kite in the wind.

A quick search on the Cornell, “All About Birds” website, identified the bird we had seen. Cornell states, “A big, brash blackbird, the male Great-tailed Grackle shimmers in iridescent black and purple, and trails a tail that will make you look twice. The rich brown females are about half the male’s size. Flocks of these long-legged, social birds strut and hop on suburban lawns, golf courses, fields, and marshes in Texas, the Southwest, and southern Great Plains. In the evening, raucous flocks pack neighborhood trees, filling the sky with their amazing (some might say ear-splitting) voices.”


Yep, that is the bird we saw. When walking in the wind, the bird staggers in an ungainly way making us wonder about the efficiency of the tail design. However, it turns out that the species is one of the most successful invasive species that moved from Central America to North America. 

We wonder how long until they reach the Pacific Northwest and contend with our crows?



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