Also look for long tails and bills and yellow eyes. The common grackle is larger than a red-winged blackbird but smaller than an American crow (speaking of, have you ever seen a fish crow?).

A common grackle in flight over a field of cattails. - Wirestock/Getty It might sound strange to hear that a once-common bird is experiencing a decline, but that is what is happening with the ...

Failing that, perhaps we could find some regal Houston designation for the grackle. Consider this excerpt from B.C. Robison’s “Birds of Houston”: “Common grackles assemble in flocks in ...

the Brewer’s in some ways replaces the common grackle ecologically. Monotypic. Length 9". A summer rusty blackbird is similar, but it has a more slender pointed bill. The male Brewer’s is more ...