Oh, the name suits, especially when they are being raucously noisy; and they are endearingly clumsy as well as beautiful. I never tire of watching them. Their Latin name is lovely though: Quiscalus quiscula.
Nightjarsays
Oh, so gorgeous! Shiny blue, shiny purple, shiny black! I have never seen them in person but the name Grackle kind of gives some hints on how they behave/sound like. :)
I have a family of grackles this year and they have me well trained. If the feeder is empty they sit on my fence and squawk until I get out there and fill it up.
Hee, mine have me very well trained too! I’ve found that Grackles are excessively fond of baked goods, muffins in particular. They get up to all manner of antics when there are muffin bits at stake. Mine are always heavy on the puff ‘n’ whistle, I could watch that all day.
StevoRsays
Is the Grackle name onomatopoeic -- derived from their call -and does it sound like across between a cackle and a growl? Or is it only squawks like #12 voyager notes?
kestrel says
Ooooh -- beautiful! Wow, you got the iridescence perfectly!
Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says
Great colors.
Caine says
Thanks! It’s so good to see them.
Giliell, professional cynic -Ilk- says
Oh my god, I woukldn’t get any work done if I had those to look at.
Caine says
Giliell:
:falls over laughing: Now you know where a whole lot of my time goes -- watching grackles.
Ice Swimmer says
Beautiful! There’s much to be said about being not just blue collar but iridescent blue collar.
Caine says
There’s really no work at all when it comes to photographing Grackles, they do it all.
Raucous Indignation says
Their name does not befit them. They need something more lofty and glorious.
Caine says
Oh, the name suits, especially when they are being raucously noisy; and they are endearingly clumsy as well as beautiful. I never tire of watching them. Their Latin name is lovely though: Quiscalus quiscula.
Nightjar says
Oh, so gorgeous! Shiny blue, shiny purple, shiny black! I have never seen them in person but the name Grackle kind of gives some hints on how they behave/sound like. :)
That’s just adorable.
Lofty says
Forged from the finest quality steel.
voyager says
I have a family of grackles this year and they have me well trained. If the feeder is empty they sit on my fence and squawk until I get out there and fill it up.
Caine says
Voyager:
Hee, mine have me very well trained too! I’ve found that Grackles are excessively fond of baked goods, muffins in particular. They get up to all manner of antics when there are muffin bits at stake. Mine are always heavy on the puff ‘n’ whistle, I could watch that all day.
StevoR says
Is the Grackle name onomatopoeic -- derived from their call -and does it sound like across between a cackle and a growl? Or is it only squawks like #12 voyager notes?
Great photo thanks. :-)