I have a really crappy photo from a still from video, from the mid-1990s, of a
grackle in our backyard with one white tail feather. Last fall, when I was up on
the meterological tower here in Edgewater, there was a large blackbird flock
moving through the trees under me and one grackle had a solid white tail. You
could pick it out easily from quite a distance. Seems like this is fairly
common in Common Grackles. Neat genetic twist.
Tyler Bell
California, Maryland
----- Original Message ----
From: Les Eastman <>
To:
Sent: Tue, February 1, 2011 1:13:00 PM
Subject: [MDOSPREY] Unusual Grackle
I have a few dozen grackles assaulting my feeders right now. One of them has
some white on the left wing. When the wing is folded, the lower edge is white.
When it flies, it looks like the outer 2 primaries are white. The rest of the
bird looks normal.
Les
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Les Eastman
mailto:[log in to unmask]
Havre de Grace, MD
The eagle looked down on the river below
And he wrapped his wings round him and he fell like a stone
And the big salmon fought but the talons held true
And he shuddered as the world turned from silver to blue
Steve Earle
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