grackle

1. Any of several American blackbirds of the family Icteridae, especially of the genus Quiscalus, having iridescent blackish plumage. Also called crow blackbird.
2. Any of several Asian mynas of the genus Gracula.

[New Latin Grācula, genus name, from Latin grāculus, jackdaw.]

(click to enlarge)
Common grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) (credit: Thase Daniel)

Any of several songbird species (in the family Icteridae) having iridescent black plumage and a long tail; also called crow-blackbird. Grackles use their stout, pointed bill to snap up insects, dig grubs from the soil, and kill small vertebrates, including fishes and baby birds; they can also crack hard seeds. The common grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) of North America is about 12 in. (30 cm) long. The males of two Cassidus species (boat-tailed and great-tailed grackles) have a long, deeply keeled tail; these species are found in arid lands of the southwestern U.S. to Peru and in salt marshes from New Jersey to Texas, where they are locally called jackdaws. See also blackbird, mynah.

For more information on grackle, visit Britannica.com.

Grackles — large, aggressive birds — soared into the headlines when they started attacking passersby in downtown Houston in an attempt to protect a chick that had fallen out of its nest. Shades of Alfred Hitchcock!

Link: Hostile Grackles Attack People in Houston

Posted May 19, 2005.

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A 10 inch long bird like a starling with iridescent black plumage, and a keel-like crease in its tail. Called also common grackle, American blackbird, Quiscalus quiscala.