A flock of Common Grackles calling noisily starts to settle into an isolated bare deciduous Chinese Tallow Tree to roost for the night, but then think better of it. The American Robins and Mourning Doves lower in the tree ignore the panicky grackles and stay put.
This unique invasive deciduous tree is a magnet for birds - more on this tree in the future!
Common Grackles by the Hundreds descend on the backyard to rest briefly in the trees - resulting in a deafening cacophony that may not be pleasing to the ear, but is surely exciting. They depart as rapidly as they arrived - leaving silence and a few upset Blue Jays wondering what just happened. Grackles are year-round residents, but they form into huge flocks in the winter and move as a group looking for food.
has been hanging around the feeder for a week and this video from a better angle shows that he is indeed a Boat-Tailed Grackle typically found near the Florida coast, this is the first one noted in our backyard. They are much larger than a common Grackle. The brown Grackle at the beginning of the video is a female Boat-tailed Grackle - almost all brown and much smaller than the male. Judging by his behavior, the one-legged male and her are not on particularly friendly terms. From the slow motion video of his left flank it is clear that there is no thigh or thigh bone attached in front of the tuft of white feathers where it normally would be and the flank is smooth indicating that this bird was probably born with one leg. Grackles are generally common and overlooked birds due to their habits of hanging around public places. This bird is quite the unique individual and a fascinating bird to watch. I wish him well! More HD videos every week. Please Subscribe at: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=MyBackyardBirding
Not sure what kind of Grackle this is but its obviously had a hard life
and has a bit of attitude in this video!
Not sure what kind of Grackle this is, maybe boat-tailed, but its obviously had a hard life
and has a bit of attitude!
I have never seen a Grackle like this in the backyard before. Certainly not your Common Grackle - It wasn't until I edited the video that i noted it only had one leg - or at least one functional leg. Appeared to be a loner and scared off every bird that approached the feeder for over five minutes at peak morning rush hour. Not clearly a boat-tailed or long-tailed Grackle, but had one huge bill that is way out of proportion to a Common Grackles. May not be a native species. It is noteworthy for its unusual sterling silver-colored or mercury -colored legs, very striking. It's an attractive bird despite its attitude. More HD videos every week. Please Subscribe at: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=MyBackyardBirding
