I realize I gave the impression they are mimics, but they really aren't. The parrotlike, "electronic and mechanical" sounds they make are all their own unique racket. (Unlike, say, starlings, which are known to imitate ring tones, and mockingbirds which imitate everything from crickets to frogs to birds to car alarrms.)
Grackles are nifty birds, but man, they can empty a bird feeder in literally half an hour. We finally had to get an exclusion cage for our feeder to give the other birds a chance.
I love thse birds. In Albuquerque I see them most often in large parking lots, where they really liven up the place with their wonderful calls. The first bird I learned to recognize here that I'd never seen in Illinois. (It was a while before I saw a wild roadrunner, though now there seem to be several pairs in my neighborhood.)
Comments 16
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment