Name: Common grackle
Species: Quiscalis quiscula
Popular and common variants / subspecies / other names: Great-tailed grackle, boat-tailed grackle
Geographic distribution: In North America, the grackle is found in eastern and central Canada and in the United States as far south as Florida.
Environment: Grackles are found in agricultural areas, cultivated residential areas, forest edges, meadows, and marshes.
Physical description: The common grackle is a black bird that measures about 12 inches long, weighs about 4 ounces, and has a wingspan of approximately 16 inches. The plumage is an iridescent black, shining with green, purple, bronze, and / or blue highlights.
Interesting facts: The grackle often nests in colonies and flocks with other blackbirds. The grackle forages in open ground, walking through grass in populated areas, searching or waiting for food, or sometimes aggressively taking it from other birds. For this reason grackles are often unwelcome at backyard bird feeders. They are considered destructive in large groups, damaging crops and spreading garbage. They are also noted for the amount of noise they make when in a group, and for their guttural, rusty, croaking call.
Myths, folklore, and cultural associations: The English name for this bird comes from gracula, Latin for “small jackdaw.” Grackles are sometimes casually referred to as purple jackdaws, because of the purple sheen to their iridescent feathers. A casual collective name for a group of these birds is a “plague” of grackles, which suggests their unwelcome presence.
Folklore has it that there will be one more snowfall after the grackles return to a region in spring.
(See also the entries for Blackbird, Crow, and Raven.)
Omens and divinatory meaning: If you see a grackle, examine how you’ve been behaving toward other people. Have you been taking advantage of them? Have you been riding roughshod over them, unaware of the destruction you’re leaving behind?
Think, too, about how noisy you’ve been. Have you been talking a lot and not saying much of substance? Have you been chattering with a group of people, either online or in real life, and not really putting your money where your mouth is?
Sometimes, though, we need to be loud and aggressive in order to survive, to get what we need in order to accomplish what must be done. In this case, the grackle can symbolize gritty determination and dedication.
The grackle’s iridescent plumage can also be associated with illusion and the capability of dazzling or redirecting people. You have to concentrate to see past the shiny reflection into the grackle’s darkness. In this, the grackle can also represent focus and dedication, and spiritual self-examination.
Associated energies: Determination, aggression, illusion
Associated season: Spring
Element associations: Air, earth
Color associations: Black, with bronze, purple, blue, and green highlights