grackle whistling

Posted by Stovepipe (Ames, Iowa, United States) on 8 October 2007 in Animal & Insect.

If you've ever seen common grackles in an aggressive or territorial mood, you might have noticed their whistling routine: they'll puff out their feathers big while gathering breath and then let loose the biggest noise they can. A bunch of grackles invaded here for one day and are now gone (that's good - they scare all the other birds away). I didn't get a good picture of one puffed out preparing to trumpet, but this one is just finishing a call.

Pentax *ist Dl, Tamron B360 1:2.8 300mm