The common name of any of eleven passerine birds native to North and South America.
The Boat-tailed Grackle is a coastal bird that ranges from the states that border the Gulf of Mexico all the way up into Connecticut, with rare sightings in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. It is found in saltmarshes and is almost never found inland, except in Florida. The word grackle derives from the latin word graculus *, which describes the small European corvid, the Jackdaw, which some grackles vaguely resemble. There are eleven species of grackle, or, there were, but the Slender-billed Grackle Quiscalus palustris went extinct in 1911, leaving ten extant species today. The common grackle is a common and often urban blackbird of eastern North America. Polytypic. Length 12.6 (32 cm). Identification A large blackbird with strong legs and a long, graduated tail that is held in a deep keeled shape during the breeding season. Widespread form shows bronze gloss to body, blue head, and purple or blue iridescence on wings and tail. The iridescence of the head is different from that of the body, and changes abruptly; this applies to all forms of common grackle. Eyes are bright yellow, while legs and bill are black. grackle. n. 1. (Animals) Also called: crow blackbird any American songbird of the genera Quiscalus and Cassidix, having a dark iridescent plumage: family Icteridae (American orioles). 2. (Animals) any of various starlings of the genus Gracula, such as G. religiosa (Indian grackle or hill mynah). Grackle is the common name of any of eleven passerine birds native to North and South America. They belong to various genera in the icterid family. In all the species with this name, adult males have black or mostly black plumage. 1  Genus Quiscalus. 2  Boat-tailed grackle, Quiscalus major. Sometimes members of the starling family have historically been called grackles. Tristram's starling is sometimes known as Tristram's grackle, and the hill mynas in the genus Gracula have also been called grackles. The two Macroagelaius grackles are the Golden-tufted Grackle M. imthurni, sometimes called the Golden-tufted Mountain-Grackle, of Brazil, Guyana, and Venezuela, and the Mountain Grackle M. subalaris, sometimes called the Colombian Mountain-Grackle, which is endemic to the eastern slope of the northern Andes in Colombia. The word grackle derives from the latin word graculus *, which describes the small European corvid, the Jackdaw, which some grackles vaguely resemble. There are eleven species of grackle, or, there were, but the Slender-billed Grackle Quiscalus palustris went extinct in 1911, leaving ten extant species today. grackle. n. 1. (Animals) Also called: crow blackbird any American songbird of the genera Quiscalus and Cassidix, having a dark iridescent plumage: family Icteridae (American orioles). 2. (Animals) any of various starlings of the genus Gracula, such as G. religiosa (Indian grackle or hill mynah). Full Definition of GRACKLE. 1. : any of a genus (Quiscalus of the family Icteridae) of large American blackbirds having iridescent black plumage. 2. : any of various Asian starlings (as the hill mynahs). See grackle defined for English-language learners. See grackle defined for kids.  Along with some other species of grackles, the common grackle is known to practice  anting , rubbing insects on its feathers possibly to apply liquids such as formic acid secreted by the insects. This bird's song is particularly harsh, especially when these birds, in a flock, are calling. Iridescent male common grackle. Adult common grackles measure from 28 to 34 cm (11 to 13 in) in length, span 36–46 cm (14–18 in) across the wings and weigh 74–142 g (2.6–5.0 oz). Common grackles are less sexually dimorphic than larger grackle species but the differences between the sexes can still be noticeable. The male, which averages 122 g (4.3 oz), is larger than the female, at an average of 94 g (3.3 oz)
http://www.10000birds.com/grackles.htm http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birding/common-grackle/ http://www.thefreedictionary.com/grackle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grackle http://www.10000birds.com/grackles.htm http://www.thefreedictionary.com/grackles http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grackle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Grackle
what is a grackle