grackle

American  

[grak-uhl] / ˈgræk əl /

noun

grackles plural

1. any of several long-tailed American birds of the family Icteridae, especially of the genus Quiscalus, having usually iridescent black plumage.

2. any of several Old World birds of the family Sturnidae, especially certain mynas.

---

grackle British  

/ ˈɡrækəl /

noun

1. Also called: crow blackbird.  any American songbird of the genera Quiscalus and Cassidix, having a dark iridescent plumage: family Icteridae (American orioles)

2. any of various starlings of the genus Gracula, such as G. religiosa ( Indian grackle or hill mynah )

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• grackles
  plural

Etymology

Origin of grackle

1765–75; < New Latin Gracula name of genus, based on Latin grāculus jackdaw

Explanation

A grackle is a shiny black bird that is commonly found in cities and backyards in the eastern part of North America. When grackles gather in groups, their harsh calls can sound like the electric buzzing of a power line. Grackles are larger than blackbirds and smaller than crows, with elongated beaks and legs. They appear black, but their feathers are beautifully iridescent in the sunshine, shining with blue and green. Grackles are scrappy foragers that are nearly omnivorous, and they tend to bully smaller birds away from bird feeders. Most scarecrows are actually used to frighten grackles, not crows.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

grackle grackles

It may have been a grackle, a goose, or some other wild bird that infected a cow in northern Texas.

From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2024

They compared the rapidly expanding great-tailed grackle with their closest relative, the boat-tailed grackle, who are not rapidly expanding their range.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2023

He’s as close to a legit NFL head coach as a grackle is to an attack helicopter.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 14, 2021

The cardinal and grosbeak are both flying in different directions, giving them a sense of being at cross purposes with the grackle.

From New York Times ● Jul. 29, 2020

For at least half an hour the old mill was forgotten, while I chased the grackle about, as he flew hither and thither, sometimes with a loggerhead shrike in furious pursuit.

From A Florida Sketch-Book by Torrey, Bradford

"Discovering how great-tailed grackles solve challenges differently from boat-tailed grackles and other species could reveal ways to help declining species adapt to the changes in their environment," says Logan.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2023

There are the sleek black grackles that attack the birds and destroy their nests, as well as constant construction projects that replace flower gardens with concrete.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 8, 2023

I sit here now, facing the feeder I hung outside my office window, watching the sparrows, bluejays, cardinals and grackles eating the seeds I put out for them and I feel . . . something.

From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2023

Even the common birds around here, like the grackles and house sparrows — they’re so fun to watch.

From New York Times ● Jun. 2, 2023

In the apple groves at the edge of town, flocks of grackles settled into the branches for the night, squawking.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston