Episode 43: Common Grackle – Voice of the Wild

Common grackle (Quiscalus quiscula). 

An adaptable blackbird with an explosive and sometimes grating song. 

Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, and insect noises? Join Voice of the Wild every Friday to explore a new wild voice. We’re available on most podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. 

• Subscription links Here 
• Subscribe to the Newsletter 
• Listen online on our Homepage 

 

The following Cornell Lab | Macaulay Library recordings were used in this episode: 

Common grackle song by Robert C. Stein and William W. H. Gunn (ML509997) 

Common grackle calls by Robert C. Stein and Eugene Morton (ML510009) 

Common grackle flock calls by Wil Hershberger (ML510013) 

Sources and more: 

• https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Grackle
• https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/common-grackle
• Peterson RT, Peterson VM. 1980. A field guide to the birds : a completely new guide to all the birds of eastern and central North America. Fourth edition, completely revised and enlarged. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company (The Peterson field guide series ; 1).
• Sibley D. 2016. Sibley birds East : field guide to birds of eastern North America. Second edition. New York: Alfred A. Knopf (Field guide to birds of eastern North America).

What is Voice of the Wild?

If you learn to listen for them, you will find wildlife everywhere. Voice of the Wild is a podcast about wildlife and the wild sounds they make. Tune in every Friday to learn a new bird song, frog call, or insect noise.

This is Illinois Extension’s Voice of the Wild. A new wild voice in just a moment, so find someplace quiet, take a deep breath, and enjoy.

This blackbird is not the favorite of many; its song is not musical, it can mob suet feeders and drive away other birds, its often slandered as a trash bird, but while it can be a pest, especially in a sprouting cornfield, elsewhere, they pose no special threat. And with close examination, I think they show a fascinating array of traits. They are adaptable birds, as comfortable strutting through your lawn as they are wading through a shallow forest puddle. They have unique plumage, a shining blueish black with strong iridescence. And a unique form - with a robust curved beak, yellow eyes, and a handsome long tail.

This is the Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) from the blackbird family Icteridae.

The common grackle will stay through the midwest winter in very modest numbers, but towards February and March, hearing big flocks issuing mixed “chucks” and creaking noises means the bulk of the birds are on their way back from further south. They are early spring migrants and a great sign that spring is on its way. Here’s the common grackle again.

Thank you to the Macaulay library at the Cornell lab for our bird sounds. And thank you for tuning in to learn a new wild voice with Illinois Extension.