Great Tail Grackle Calls and Sounds

[@Tinarita]

They’re just recently finding their way to Palm Springs area. I first learned of them in Texas…they’re everywhere in huge flocks! Just a few here, so far but I love them!

[@barbbarnes469]

We heard them all the time at the grocery stores in Phoenix. I love their sounds. We thought we were hearing exotic birds at first! Thanks for posting this. We're back in MN.☹ I miss AZ so much.

[@peterkim1999]

They are very adorable and I always smile when I hear them at shopping mall parking lots.

[@saturnDean]

They don't sound annoying to me. I find it adorable!

[@flattire4243]

😊

[@airbirdy92]

they only annoy me in the evening, the tree in my backyard has about 70 of these guys in it and night

[@coinwater8511]

When driving the 3 hour drive to see family on weekends from college, I saw these guys all over the gas station parking lot. when I stopped at the parking lot for some lunch, Sometimes I'd bring cereal, put it outside my truck, and watch them eat outside my truck window while I was eating in the truck 😊

[@jpalberthoward9]

@@airbirdy92 You have what I call a Heckle and Jeckle hotel. I had one a couple of blocks from my house before the assholes cut the tree down. (They said the birds were a nuisance) Try going out there in the late afternoon before they start coming back. Bring a beer or a soda and relax and watch them come in, 2 or 3 at a time, watch the tree fill up and see how they jump around in the branches. It looks like a big clubhouse and they're having a meeting, talking to each other about what they did all day, and flirting with each other, trying to hook up. Binoculars will enhance this immensely, so bring 'em if you got 'em or borrow some if possible. If you can see all of this with the right kind of eyes, it's not only funny, but you can also get an insight on how they're not all that different from us in some ways. I find all of this to be extremely entertaining and educational, if you can see them in this light, and you gain a little bit deeper understanding of what's going on with them, they might not be so annoying. Don't wait until the soulless Philistines with the suits and the cigars declare your Heckle and Jeckle hotel a nuisance and destroy it. If that happens, you'll miss out on seeing something cool.

[@MeltedPearls]

One of my favorite things about Phoenix. These birds are very much at ease with humans and often imitate many of our sounds, like car alarms, dog whistles, and sirens.

[@davidhines68]

They seemed like improvising jazz musicians to me when I lived there. I liked the fact that they didn't just repeat the same call over and over.

[@ivyarianrhod]

That’s one of your favorite things about Phoenix? It was one of the most annoying things about living there for me. Once had a grackle calling like a siren for hours one night outside our bedroom window. My partner finally went out and threw something at the tree to shut it up.

[@jpalberthoward9]

@@davidhines68 They remind me very much of late period John Coltrane. I wonder if the 'Trane ever took his horn to the park and just jammed with these guys? Remember, Charlie Parkers nickname was "Bird" I've done that with the guitar a few times, and it worked out well, they even hit some blues riffs, and they'll actually trade riffs with you of you do this often enough. The trick is to match the length and duration of what they sing with what you play. Their timing is pretty good and they'll actually groove with you on a call and response. But you have to tune to A=432 Hz. They don't like 440, and if you play at that pitch, they'll fly away. They sing mostly in either Db or Bb. Don't take my word for this, try it for yourself. Everybody said I was nuts, and I said "Well yeah, but not about this." The fastest way in the world to REALLY piss me off is to talk trash about these guys and suggest killing them or harming them.

[@Daysleeper1000]

​@@ivyarianrhod🙄

[@jpalberthoward9]

I dearly love these guys. They're beautiful to look at, they're funny they make incredible music, (it's weird but it's cool) and they're friendly once you earn their trust. They cause me no trouble or grief whatsoever, and when summer comes and their numbers decrease, I miss them, and look forward to seeing them again when the weather cools down again. But there are a few things that we should understand about their situation.

[@aomikeyy3287]

I’m visiting in New Mexico and I see these guys everywhere. They also make a really cool siren sounding call.

[@krissykriss328]

Im in Arizona and we have a nest of babies in our tall palm tree. We watch the mom and dad feed and protect the babies, we love them ❤

[@WoodsBooksandBuilding]

I love listening to grackles and watching them play. They do come up where I live in Eastern Ontario, Canada but for some reason don’t sing as much up here. I’ll forever associate their beautiful grackling sing-song talk with much further south in Mexico, Costa Rica and the US south. Love these guys and it’s so nice to hear them.

[@RageMagikarp]

Favorite bird, mainly because they're funny

[@Dezbood]

So interesting. They sound higher pitched than the central Texas grackles I know and love. I wonder if they’re smaller in size too.

[@davidmcmannus7583]

We have a tree full of them here in Jacumba Hot Springs, CA. So much fun to watch and listen to!!!

[@davekimball3610]

I live in New Mexico and we have a few hanging around going through every possible sound in their catalog.

[@M7Triple6]

I could listen and watch them ALL DAY if I was able!! 💥💕🌈

[@ClownDuck]

A lot of these guys hang out in the parking lot at my workplace. Love them all lots. Silly lil guys

[@danielj3010]

heard these all night in xpu ha mexico.. almost magical!

[@megaball-ps8tq]

I’ve seen these types of birds all over Phoenix, Arizona. I’ve mostly seen them near urban areas but I think I’ve seen some near the desert areas (but not never often).

[@kisscactus]

This is my favorite bird. They're all over southern Arizona, and they seem to like human structures & neighborhoods.

[@Exterminator_PvP_YT]

I heard them all day in my school in the morning, afternoon.

[@Chicago-Brooklyn-Express]

We have one here in western Nebraska that comes back every year in summer and hides in the trees, my wife and I were going nuts trying to figure out what in the hell it was but finally figured it out to be a grackle, they are hysterical!

[@TSPH1992]

I saw them during my holiday on the Yucatan Peninsula. They are hilarious

[@itsdragoninawagon]

the Oklahoma grackles sound a little different from the Arizona ones, maybe they have regional accents lol! ours make more rusted gate hinge like noises, or something akin to a high pitched machine gun pfft

[@professor_espie]

I just saw one in LA, it’s unusual sound made me wonder what it was, black bird, nice sized, speckled throat. Cute shaped beak and a somewhat stout body. There were two of them sitting on the line. I wonder if it was this.

[@allycatphae]

I miss these calls🥹 reminds me of Oklahoma❤️

[@clixism]

Just saw/ heard one up in Southern Canada. Took me and my wife forever to figure out it was a Grackle as they are uncommon to this far north. But it could only be a Grackle!

[@askjenthemystic]

My spirit animals 😍

[@shycat5905]

First time seeing Grackles in NYC. They look similar to crow.

[@lanivelazquez5308]

i live in south texas and theyre e v e r y w h e r e. theyre like our pigeons lol

[@coilcreature]

@@lanivelazquez5308 theyre worse than pigeons

[@howdidigethere5302]

Wow!!!

[@flattire4243]

😲

[@allyguber]

Do they make creaking door sounds? Trying to figure out what is making that noise in my wooded back yard

[@SoggySoxSaga]

Thier natural habitat is Walmart and Mall parking lot trees.

[@IggnantOG]

These birds are at Walmart in Truth or Consequences new Mexico and they scream different things. It's like they are competing. I haven't heard any like them on here. These ones scream.

[@leroypena5113]

When I die I want to be reincarnated as a Grackle. Beautiful birds. Mostly black, but the oils on their feathers give them a pearl coating. They can look green, blue, purple and yellow in the sunlight.

[@Paladin_Green]

All over Austin are grackles

[@wildbynature3192]

I just found a black colored bird, black beek and black eyes! I think it's a common grackles? But I'm not sure? How can I be sure? I've looked up my state autobahn but still can't find it! It seems hurt, it can't fly🥺 but I've been giving it lots of water!!

[@OreadNYC]

Grackles have feathers that look black in shade but have an almost metallic sheen in sunlight -- usually deep bluish-purple on the head and bronze on the back. Also, if it has a black eyes, it is not a grackle -- the eyes of grackles are lighter than their feathers. At a guess, especially if it's a fairly large bird, I'd say that what you have there is more likely to be a crow or a raven.

[@FellshardYT]

Yeah, grackle eyes are notably a bright yellow. Very recognizable.

[@krissykriss328]

Take it to the vet

[@EbenWonder]

Slide whistle

[@jimmyrodasmolestina979]

Heckle and jeckle

[@readysetreact1345]

I am on vacation in Texas and these birds are super annoying, I call them electric birds because of the blackish blue color and interesting sound

[@jimmyrodasmolestina979]

Some of them make farting sounds

[@gregorygarcia7807]

I made some birdwatching notes and youtube rejected them... what the hell...

[@krissykriss328]

You have to bleep out cuss words or KZbin might reject your comment. Thats what probably happened to you.

[@gregorygarcia7807]

The funny thing is, in the first post, I didn't even use the word hell!! no curse words. Just crows and grackles. what's wrong with that? I think they're bird bigots.