Quiscalus major                                                Photo William Mahoney ©

In Florida, boat-tailed grackles are sometimes called ‘parking lot birds’ because they are often seen walking around in parking lots. Males are iridescent, purple-black, females are brown with darker wings and tail. These bold, noisy birds are omnivorous, and they are often seen hanging around dumpsters and fast food restaurants looking for scraps and handouts. Their call is an easily recognizable “jeeb-jeeb-jeeb”.

Boat-tailed grackles live throughout Florida, inland as well as along the coasts, but in the rest of the southern US they are found mainly in coastal saltwater marshes. They feed on insects, frogs, small fish and seeds.

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