I observed a male grackle pick up food from a birdfeeder, fly to the branch of a ginko tree and feed a female grackle beak to beak. Earlier today I observed the same behavior between a male cardinal and female cardinal. That is considered mating behavior according to GOOGLE. Is this the same for the Grackles?
Hi Judy, Common Grackles don’t typically participate in courtship feeding like cardinals. Given the time of year, you’re most likely seeing adults feeding recently fledged young. Immature birds will follow parents around for several weeks after they leave the nest. Immature birds are a dull brownish overall, while adults are more iridescent brownish-black, with dark blueish-green iridescent heads. You can see examples of their plumages on this page.
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I observed a male grackle pick up food from a birdfeeder, fly to the branch of a ginko tree and feed a female grackle beak to beak. Earlier today I observed the same behavior between a male cardinal and female cardinal. That is considered mating behavior according to GOOGLE. Is this the same for the Grackles?
Hi Judy, Common Grackles don’t typically participate in courtship feeding like cardinals. Given the time of year, you’re most likely seeing adults feeding recently fledged young. Immature birds will follow parents around for several weeks after they leave the nest. Immature birds are a dull brownish overall, while adults are more iridescent brownish-black, with dark blueish-green iridescent heads. You can see examples of their plumages on this page.