grackle

American  

[grak-uhl] / ˈgræk əl /

noun

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.

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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 )

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Etymology

Origin of grackle

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

Example Sentences

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

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

From Salon

Postmortem tests of grackles, blackbirds, and other birds found dead on dairy farms detected H5N1, but that didn’t turn the tide.

From Salon

Oddly, the dead birds on infected farms were not waterfowl, the migratory birds that typically spread the avian flu viruses to poultry, but “peridomestic” species such as grackles, blackbirds, and pigeons.

From Science Magazine

Next, when the location of the food was swapped, the researchers examined how quickly the grackles relearned where to find it.

From Science Daily