THE GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE
by
Walter L. Meagher
Photos by Wayne Colony
Grackles attract our opprobrium for their aggressive ways. And though nature is indifferent to our likes and dislikes, we can’t help ourselves, ordering creation according to personal preferences. If populations of grackles declined, who would defend them? I am startled by their beauty, as one might be by a Bedouin tribesman - they have long tails and a preference for black.
Like most members of their family (Icteridae), Great-tailed Grackles eat, sleep and travel in flocks. The evolutionary advantage is obvious: flocks are intimidating, food sources may be depleted, so completely taken that little remains for birds that feed alone or in small groups, like sparrows. Intimidation is effected by size, by swagger, by sudden jousting movements, by the long pointed bill and the ‘great’ tail. I enjoy the sight of grackles on their regular flyways. To see them is to feel a rhythm in nature, 50 birds in the first flock, then another 50 birds, traveling in the evening when the sun is setting, in the morning when it is rising. There is this exception: in late March, males leave the flock to take a perch to which they hope one-note calls will attract a mate.