Boat-tail Grackles

[sparker1]

I love these birds for some reason. Maybe because they are less skittish than most. Their coloring is also nice.

[dancinec]

Great captures. Are they male and female? The size (and of course the coloration) appears so much different.

[Paul A]

They are very cool looking birds, however their range is expanding, they have reached Ventura Co. Calif. They are very aggresive towards other birds between them and crows the native birds are going to need tranquilizers in their seed.

[PetKal]

Excellent shots Stan. The female is simply superb.
The male colouring is exceedingly difficult to photograph authentically because of that cobalt-to-green irredescence. I see the colours on the male being perhaps a bit off.
Yes, the boat-tails have a distinctive sexual dimorphism.

[Gary Fairhead]

Nice shots. great detail in the female. The Boat-tail Grackles are considerably larger than the Common Grackles we get here in the summer. One thing I have noticed with the ones we have is that no bird takes more baths. These guys are continuously bathing! They put the Bluejays in their place too...tough bird.

[sparker1]

Thanks for all the comments, fellas. As mentioned, these are male and female and much different in size and color. The male's color could have been a little more green in places than shows in the pic, but I think it's pretty close. He was hopping around on the ground, so the shot wasn't as good. I took several good ones of the female in the tree. There must have been 100 of these hanging out around a picnic area. We also get common grackles in FL.

[Stephen Stephen]

Nice pair of shots Stan. The male has some great colour.

[Dimitri_V]

I love these birds for some reason. Maybe because they are less skittish than most. Their coloring is also nice.


Very good Stan,i like the colour on that 1st one,so deep blue like oceanic.