common grackle

noun

: a North American grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) having glossy black plumage that especially in the adult male reflects a purple, green, or bronze iridescence

… you know that those annoying, long-tailed blackbirds in your backyard are common grackles …

—Michael Stirek, The Bismarck (North Dakota) Tribune, 11 June 2009

In North America, the … red-winged blackbird … and common grackle can form flocks approaching a million birds.

—Kevin Cook, Bird Watcher's Digest, January/February 1995

see bronzed grackle, florida grackle , purple grackle

Word History

First Known Use

1880, in the meaning defined above

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