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Re: follow up to Blackbird ID

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Rick Sussman

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Sun, 31 Jan 2010 12:10:32 -0500

Joanne,
 The newest National Geographic guide (5th edition), under Common Grackle, states that "Females are smaller and duller than males" though it doesn't suggest by how much. It lists 3 distinct races; "Widespread race (Quiscalus quiscula) versicolor, called 'Bronzed Grackle', occurs in most of New England and west of the Appalachians; it has a bronze back, blue head, and purple tail. Smaller 'Purple Grackle' quiscula of the Southeast, has a narrow bill, purple head, bottle green back, and blue tail. An intergrade population from the mid-Atlantic (stonei) shows variable color."
 So they are all Common Grackles, just different races of the same species. There is no Bronzed Grackle listed as a full species, not that I know of. It may be split in the future, but for now, all we have are Common Grackles. And as with the Dark-eyed Junco's (whose photos are appearing on MDOsprey today), there seems to be much variation in them. If that large flock that seems to be hanging around here comes back again, and I get the chance, I will look through them further. As you said, it is fun to learn!

Rick Sussman
Woodbine,MD





-----Original Message-----
From: Joanne Howl <>
To: 
Sent: Sun, Jan 31, 2010 11:02 am
Subject: [MDOSPREY] follow up to Blackbird ID


Thanks to those who took a look at my odd black bird. 
The consensus is that this is a bronzed grackle, although somewhat small.  
efore I started comparing sizes, I too thought it was a grackle.  
I just had a flock of Grackles fly into the feeder, along with a red-winged 
lackbird and a starling.  So, again, another size comparison.  Most of them are 
otably bigger than the redwing, and some are probably 3 inches bigger, as my 
ook suggests.  But many are just slightly bigger than the red winged blackbird.  
o I've recalibrated my brain, and won't be thinking that grackles have to be 
2" in order to be "grackles".  There are some birds here, clearly grackles, 
hat are probably 9.5 - 10 inches, which is right where my bird-of-interest 
its.  There's a continuum of sizes.  
So, I'm now quite happy with the BRONZED GRACKLE at my feeder yesterday.  
I'm curious, however, if the smaller ones would be juveniles or females, or just 
maller birds along a continuum. 
It's fun to learn!
joanne