Quiscalus quiscula (Linnaeus, 1758)
Common Grackle
CLASSIFICATION
Main Group: Animal
Sublevel 1: Vertebrate
Sublevel 2: Bird
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Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Icteridae
Genus: Quiscalus
Species: Quiscalus quiscula
STATUS IN NEW ENGLAND
Origin: Native
Invasive, Pest, or Pathogen?: No
Rarity Designations: None
BIOLOGY/ECOLOGY
Feeding Type: Heterotroph
HABITAT
NOTES
Considered an agricultural pest. May also be a nuisance and create health concerns when large numbers of birds roost in areas frequented by people (Dolbeer and Linz, 2016). Common Grackles are known to predate the nests of the federally-threatened Piping Plover (Warren, 2016).
PHOTOS OF Quiscalus quiscula
At a feeder
Essex County, MA
Date: 2018-03-20
At a feeder
Essex County, MA
Date: 2018-03-20
At a feeder
Essex County, MA
Date: 2018-03-20
In a beaver pond
Essex County, MA
Date: 2012-04-04
In a beaver pond
Essex County, MA
Date: 2011-04-15
Fledgling, in a beaver pond
Essex County, MA
Date: 2010-05-30
REFERENCES
Dolbeer, R.A. and Linz, G.M. 2016. Blackbirds. Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service Wildlife Services. August 2016. Available from: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/reports/Wildlife%20Damage%20Management%20Technical%20Series/FINAL_Blackbirds_WDM%20Technical%20Series_Aug2016.pdf.
Warren, D.J. 2016. Management of Predators at Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge, Massachusetts for the Enhancement and Protection of Threatened and Endangered Shore Nesting Birds. May 2016 - August 2016 Summary Report. Submitted to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge. Prepared by David J. Warren, USDA, APHIS Wildlife Services. August 18, 2016.