Mystery Grackle above on left. Female Great-tailed Grackle, male Brewer's Blackbird and male Great-tailed Grackle right. Brewer's Blackbird in flight.
Mystery Grackle above on left, Brewer's Blackbirds right for comparison..
This month was devoted to the controversial grackle at Preisker Park in Santa Maria. I thought the analysis and discussion was at a very high level but I was somewhat disappointed that none of the advocates for this bird being a Common Grackle were able or willing to articulate their case. Perhaps the arguments in favor of hybrid origin were just too strong. There is no question that this bird closely resembles a Common Grackle at first glance, but the arguments against it are compelling and I find the hybrid theory to best fit the facts. This controversial bird was present through at least 15 June 1999 and may still be present. As Great-tailed Grackles continue to colonize Northern California, more hybridization with Brewer's Blackbird seems inevitable. We all need to be alert to this possibility when reporting Common Grackle in California, especially if the bird does not show all characters of the expected "Bronzed" subspecies.
A detailed description and analysis of the Preisker Park bird by Curtis Marantz is here. The original images are below. To view public comments, click here.
| Photos below copyright © 1999 Jamie M. Chavez. All rights reserved. | Photos below copyright © 1999 Luke Cole. All rights reserved. |
|
Mystery Grackle above on left. Female Great-tailed Grackle, male Brewer's Blackbird and male Great-tailed Grackle right. Brewer's Blackbird in flight. |
|
Mystery Grackle above on left, Brewer's Blackbirds right for comparison.. |
|
|
|
Mystery Grackle in flight. |
What do you think this bird is? Please click here to view comments or add your own.