Common grackle

Description:

These birds are taller and have longer tails than typical blackbirds; their bills are also longer and more tapered and their feathers are glossy and iridescent. Females are somewhat duller than males in color and juveniles are brownish. Grackles practice "anting," rubbing insects on their feathers to apply liquids such as formic acid secreted by the insects. During breeding season, males tip their heads back and fluff up their feathers to display and keep other males away. This same behavior is used as a defensive posture to attempt to intimidate predators. They tend to nest in colonies, laying about 6-7 eggs. Noisy birds, grackles gather in groups and peck for food on the ground and also eat at feeders, where they often displace smaller birds. They eat a variety of foods, including insects, minnows, frogs, eggs, berries, seeds, grain, suet and even small birds and mice.

Habitat:

Common grackles live in North America east of the Rocky Mountains in open and semi-open areas.

Notes:

A fairly large group was visiting my feeders today, dominating the scene with a flock of red-winged blackbirds.