Digital Tobago - Avifauna A-Z : Carib Grackle

Also known as Passerine’s or pearching bird’s. Any member of the largest avian order which includes more than 5,700 species, more than half of all living birds. Passerine’s are true perching birds with four toed feet, three toes facing forward and one larger toe facing backwards.

Length : 24 - 27 cm ( 9½ - 11 in)

Local Names : Blackbird, Bequia-sweet, Merle.

The male is a glossy purple black with a conspicuous yellow eye and the tail is long and keel-shaped. The female is smaller than the male and duller with a regular shaped tail, while juveniles are brown or mottled brown-black with brown eyes. The species roost and nests colonially building large cup shaped nests often high in palm or other trees. The call is a series of harsh clucks and squeaks often ending with a ringing bell like note. They feed mainly on insects, though they are known to eat seeds, and will readily take scraps, being just as much at home in open restaurants as in their more natural habitat of fields and mangroves.

The Icteridae is a family made up of 88 species of diverse songbirds from across the Americas including blackbirds, grackles, orioles, cowbirds, meadowlarks, and oropendolas. The majority of Icterids have black in the plumage with yellow also being a predominant colour in many species. Males are usually decidedly larger than females.