As spring swells and shakes off the cold grip of winter, early migrants such as the Common Grackle become more…well, common. This bird can be found striding around backyards or gardens carefully searching for grubs and insects in the grass. Grackles belong to a family of birds called Icterids (or New World blackbirds) which include other more brightly-colored members like Bobolinks, Eastern Meadowlarks, and Baltimore Orioles. While their colors are less conspicuous, in the right lighting you can see a grackle’s brilliant green, purple, and blue iridescent feathers. While its name suggests the mundane, a Common Grackles’ plumage, at the right angle, is certainly anything but!
Backyard Bird of the Month is a feature by Maine Audubon created for the Maine Home Garden News, the newsletter of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard. Photo by Doug Hitchcox.
