Help with grackle ID - Ottawa, Ontario (1 Viewer)

[matt.m]

Hi,

I saw a bird which looked like Great-tailed Grackle (I am familiar with them from my visits to Mexico). It wass bigger compared to the Common Grackle, with flat head and large tail. But Great-tailed Grackle was never seen anywhere close to Ottawa - closest sighting was about 500 km from here.

Fortunately, I managed to snap a few pictures of the bird. Is it a Great-tailed Grackle or just very big Common Grackle? Please help.

Thank you.

 

[Butty]

Common grackle - note graduated tail. All fledged individuals are much the same size, so it's a normal-sized one. Judging the size of a lone bird is notoriously unreliable.

 

[matt.m]

Thank you Butty. I know that it's very hard to judge the size of a single bird, but there were other grackles around and this one was definitely bigger. I also know that human eye is a very imprecise tool - and human brain is even worse.

I see your point about the tail. So it is a Common Grackle. Thanks again.