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Grackles

To make it easier to picture the grackle in the wild, browse the images below.

 

The boat-tailed grackle (quiscalus major) will be found almost exclusively around salt water, rarely being found more than 30 miles from it. The exception being the state of Florida where it is found all over the state. Its range is the southern United States from the Atlantic coast, through Florida, and the Gulf of Mexico states west to Texas. They don't migrate and most stay within ten miles of where they were born. They breed mostly in marshy areas,

They are opportunistic omnivorous scavenging small animals and plants along the seashore as well as visiting dumps and fast food parking lots for their meals. They also eat seeds, insects and small animals.

Male boat-tailed grackles are a glossy black with a purple iridescent sheen with a tail that is as long as the body. The females are a rich dark brown and about one half the size of the males. The tail is usually folded in a "V" shape.

Lake Morton Grackle

A boat-tailed grackle perches on the shore of Lakeland, Florida's Lake Morton.

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Flight Of The Grackle

This boat-tailed grackle was found in Tampa, Florida's Lettuce Lake Park.

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Grackle Call

A boat-tailed grackle calling to its mates in Tampa, Florida's Lettuce Lake Park.

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Grackle In The Reeds

A female boat-tailed grackle searches in the reeds for something to eat on the shores of Lakeland, Florida's Lake Morton.

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Calling all Grackles

This male boat-tailed grackle was calling to its mates in Tampa, Florida's Lettuce Lake Park.

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Tattered Tail

This male boat-tailed gracke was found in Tampa, Florida's Lettuce Lake Park.

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Quiscalus Major

This male boat-tailed grackle was walking on the shore of Lake Parker in Lakeland, Florida's Lake Parker Park.

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Brown Is Beautiful

A female boat-tailed grackle lands on the spatterdock in Lakeland, Florida's Lake Morton in April of 2017.

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Balancing Grackle

A female boat-tailed grackle lands on the spatterdock in Lakeland, Florida's Lake Morton in April of 2017.

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Grackle Cackle

A boat-tailed grackle calls for others from its perch in a bush.

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Electric Grackle

This boat-tailed grackle was sighted on the Lake Apopka: North Shore Wildlife Drive near Apopka, Florida.

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A Perch In The Marsh BW

On an early September 2016 morning, a female boat tailed grackle perched in a marshy Manatee County area near Rubonia, Florida.

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