Red-winged Blackbird vs Common Grackle
The check that settles it
Larger, iridescent, with a long keel-shaped tail and a pale yellow eye.
Red-winged Blackbird
Agelaius phoeniceus
- Size
- 22–24 cm
- Bill
- thin pointed
- Where
- marsh, open field, feeder
- Voice
- A gurgling 'conk-la-ree' ending in a trill, and a sharp 'check'.
Common Grackle
Quiscalus quiscula
- Size
- 28–34 cm
- Bill
- thin pointed
- Where
- yard, open field, feeder, city
- Voice
- A harsh rising creak, often compared to a rusty gate.
Confirming a red-winged blackbird
- Male: black with red-and-yellow shoulders, though the red can be hidden when not displaying.
- Female: heavily streaked dark brown, with a pale eyebrow and a long pointed bill.
- Sings from the top of a cattail or a fence post with wings spread and tail fanned.
- Almost always near water or wet ground in the breeding season.
Confirming a common grackle
- A pale yellow eye — obvious even at distance.
- A long tail held in a V-shaped keel in flight.
- Iridescence that changes from bronze to purple with the angle of the light.
- Walks on lawns in loose flocks.