If you feed the birds like I do, the arrival of a flock of grackles is not usually welcome. These medium-sized, slim lanky birds have glossy dark feathers. These medium-sized, lanky birds have glossy dark feathers. In the light their heads look blue or purple, tails and bills are long and they have yellow eyes. The common grackles are larger than a red-winged blackbird but small than a crow.

They are bullies at the feeder — a bunch will empty all the seeds in no time flat. But they are part of the bird world and while they aren’t cute or pretty, they do have some elegance.

There are three types of grackles:

The Common Grackle

The Great-Tailed Crackle and the Boat-Tailed Grackle.

Grackles will eat many types of grain and seeds, including cracked corn and sunflower seeds, as well as peanuts. They also eagerly devour suet. In summer, as well as insects, berries and small animals such as frogs and mice.

The good news when dealing with a large flock of grackles is that it’s most likely a migratory flock that will stary a few days and then move on. I usually put a very small snack size portion in the feeder to encourage them to “eat and fly.” You can also put out a tube feeder with very small perches.

Grackles are found year-round throughout most of the United States. Birds that breed in the northern part of their range migrate short distances for winter.

Female grackles construct the nest, often choosing nest sites in conifer trees that offer dense cover. These birds often nest in large groups near water.

Though they are each large dark colored birds, grackles are not related to crows. Grackles are in the Icteridae, or blackbird family, which includes cowbirds and orioles.