grackle, common name applied to some members of the New World family Icteridae, which also includes blackbirds, orioles, meadowlarks, cowbirds, and others. The plumage of the purple, or common, grackle of the Atlantic coastal region is black with metallic hues, iridescent in the sunlight. It feeds on grain and harmful insects, but it is a cannibalistic nest robber. Grackles invade cities and roost in huge flocks. The bronzed grackle, which interbreeds with the purple, is found further inland and W to the Rocky Mts.; in the South are found the Florida and boat-tailed grackles, in Texas and Mexico the great-tailed grackles, or jackdaws. Grackles are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Passeriformes, family Icteridae.

Any of several songbird species (in the family Icteridae) having iridescent black plumage and a long tail; also called crow-blackbird. Grackles use their stout, pointed bill to snap up insects, dig grubs from the soil, and kill small vertebrates, including fishes and baby birds; they can also crack hard seeds. The common grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) of North America is about 12 in. (30 cm) long. The males of two Cassidus species (boat-tailed and great-tailed grackles) have a long, deeply keeled tail; these species are found in arid lands of the southwestern U.S. to Peru and in salt marshes from New Jersey to Texas, where they are locally called jackdaws. Seealso blackbird, mynah.

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A Grackle is a gregarious, passerine bird native to North and South America. Each of the 11 species of grackle belongs to the Icterid family. The species are:

• Genus Quiscalus
• Boat-tailed Grackle, Quiscalus major
• Common Grackle, Quiscalus quiscula
• Great-tailed Grackle, Quiscalus mexicanus
• Slender-billed Grackle, Quiscalus palustris - extinct (1910)
• Nicaraguan Grackle, Quiscalus nicaraguensis
• Greater Antillean Grackle, Quiscalus niger
• Carib Grackle, Quiscalus lugubris
• Genus Hypopyrrhus
• Red-bellied Grackle, Hypopyrrhus pyrohypogaster
• Genus Lampropsar
• Velvet-fronted Grackle, Lampropsar tanagrinus
• Genus Macroagelaius
• Golden-tufted Grackle, Macroagelaius imthurni
• Mountain Grackle, Macroagelaius subalaris

Quiscalus grackles are known for being capable of imitating human speech, even better than parrots.

External links

• Quiscalus videos on the Internet Bird Collection
• Common Grackle