Added: 5 years ago
From: wildstar1
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  • A charm of grackles singing in a tree is one of my favorite sounds on earth. Thanks for the vid. 

  • i have rehabed a lot of orfaned grackles .. they are extremely intelegent !! every one of them felt it nessacery to peck my hand with food before eating it ... but that's how and why theyv'e been successful in the wild... it's a doggie dog world out there for a bird

  • "Dammit Bob! Why?! I was using that!!"

  • I wish they would stop swooping in and bothering the squirrels. I had some peanuts that I threw to the squirrels this afternoon. Within a half-second, a dozen grackles came from nowhere and grabbed the peanuts before the squirrels knew what was happening. They love to be thieves, that's for sure.

  • I dont know what your definition of smart is, but this is neither intelligence or reasoning on the animals part. This is survival, nothing more, nothing less.

  • grackles are fearless man, crazy too lol. 

  • Grackles are amazing, thank you for filming them and sharing. Ours raid the neighbors dog food bowl then fly two house over to our bird bath and soak the food :-)

  • Cute. I like them too.

  • i see you are easilly amazed.,.,,

    i've had one for a pet for three years now and they do what they do,not really amazing if you ask me,just a bird doing what they do..

  • i found a Grackle with a broken wing and iv realized its verry smart ! he has a cut on his wing and i dont no what i should do, i clean it with water every day but yah :p hes so cute i named him carry and hes just becouming an adult.

  • I like them even though they're DICKS.

  • I shoot grackles their a pest

  • my fiance said grackles look like devil birds!!

  • OMG, I just saw grackle do this very thing, and checked youtube to see if there was anything on grackle intelligence! Yeah, these guys are SMART. That's why they're so successful. That, and they eat almost ANYTHING.

  • I love how they have to keep checking it. "Is it squishy enough yet? Nope. Better put it back in."

  • You know for the longest time i wondered how my dog's food managed to make its way to the water bowl outside then i found out thats exactly what these birds were doing lol

  • as of this comment there are about 500 of these in my back yard. My cat is just standing there wide eyed and terrified

  • I rescued a baby grackle,we named him Gubby..started on baby bird formula...when he was big enough I'd bring him out in the morning, sit with him and as I drank coffee, I'd toss bird food to him, he'd catch it and dunk it like a person.Gubby came home for lunch and I'd hear his raspy call outback...again we'd hang out until he left for the afternoon...at night II'd call him and he'd land on my shoulder to come

  • I rescued a baby grackle,we named him Gubby..started on baby bird formula...when he was big enough I'd bring him out in the morning, sit with him and as I drank coffee, I'd toss bird food to him, he'd catch it and dunk it like a person.Gubby came home for lunch and I'd hear his raspy call outback...again we'd hang out until he left for the afternoon...at night II'd call him and he'd land on my shoulder to come in..until the fateful Oct. morn when he didn't stay for breakfast and migrated, TEAR!

  • They'll do this with nuts in the birdseed mix we feed. They'll soak them in the bird bath and then eat them.

  • these grackles can also copy other sounds such as peoples voices. Yes they are smart and interesting. They like to be around shallow water .

  • i love grackles. i have raised one who is an incredible "pet". he brings joy to everyone who meets him. i think it pisses people off when they realize that the birds have outsmarted them! lol!

  • Instead of shooting it with the camera, you should've shot it with a BB gun.

  • @smp22287 the feelings mutual, instead of repying i should've shot you with a bb gun, lol/

  • @jgk381 Wouldn't you like to know what I did to the baby grackles nesting in my yard, lol/

  • @smp22287 all i say is your going to hell, and karma's a bitch, watch out

  • @jgk381 Yeah, I'll take my chances; at least I'm not a self-righteous prick like you.

  • @smp22287 good luck with that, your a sick bastard getting off on harming innocent creatures, go see a doctor you sociopathic freak

  • A Grackle has flown up to my specific apartment and knocked my door to beg for crackers. I couldn't figure out who was knocking on my door; I thought it was neighborhood children. Then I looked down and there was a Grackle looking up at me. I gave him some food and he sang for a little while and then flew away. They aren't dumb.

  • It's upsetting to see the humans with their careless attitudes towards the caged animals. Busy life styles, and not mindful of anything they do. It makes my brain hurt. Yesterday these birds made me happy.

    Pests my ass!

  • These birds make me very happy.

    I went to the zoo yesterday. I was supposed to be observing all of the captive animals, but the visiting grackles stole the show! They were so free and happy. The mating dances, the songs in the trees, the fluttery baths... it was fulfilling and euphoric. Like... "yes, this is what life is supposed to be about"

  • i saw this bird and i first thought, "maybe it's nicer than it looks". then it started attacking sparrows (1/5) the size. How do i get rid of Grackles?

  • @sndd0138: English sparrows are an invasive species to North America and kill off endangered birds and carry the West Nile Virus (which infects humans). They also invade bird nests and kill baby chicks of other birds. The Grackle was no doubt defending its own offspring.

  • Pain in the butt in Indiana! I love all birds but not them

  • I notice that the grackles round here (Phoenix) are right on the verge of being smart enough to recognize their own reflections in windows and such. Some take advantage of the opportunity to preen, while others either ignore the image or try to fight with it.

  • I just wished they'd stop terrorizing the red wing black birds in my neighborhood

  • Yes they can be annoying sometimes too, but that's just nature.:) I like the red-wings, sadly I'm seeing fewer of them.:(

    Thanks for watching.

  • Yes, these birds are incredibly astute. where I live (Costa Rica) they are considered a plague and recent studies showed they carry salmonella in their feces. The most common species here is the great tailed grackle (quiscalus mexicanus) which is a bit different from the one in the video. I think the one you show is a common grackle (quiscalus quiscula). Sometimes you can see groups of 50 or more individuals making a lot of noise. I keep them off my property to give a chance to other species.

  • @wildstar1

    hire me, ill shoot them gracks and youll see them red wings again!!

  • very beautiful video

  • Thanks for watching and for the nice comment.:)

  • Wow cool exotic bird,but I doesn't know what the name is on swedish :s.

  • Me either.:)

    Thanks for watching!

  • @wildstar1 if you found one as a baby and domesticated it, I'm almost certain it would be able to talk. Myna birds are a type of indian grackle and are very VERY smart and as you know are very good mimics of speech.

  • i can do that

  • To my mind, the best video on youtube: "Christian the Lion - the full story (in HQ)" ( watch?v=adYbFQFXG0U )

  • Thanks for posting this video! Very cool! (and funny! as in: "WTF are you doing bathing in my food dippin' pond? Sheesh!")

    Other examples of animal intelligence: "Dolphin play bubble rings" ( watch?v=TMCf7SNUb-Q ) and "ORIGINAL Elephant Painting" ( watch?v=He7Ge7Sogrk ) - this second video was so remarkable that I didn't think it was real, but Snopes(.)com confirmed that it is... REAL!

  • Also,something interesting is that in certain places,thousands of them would get together,and it would look like a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds"

  • And so much people call birds dumb. Well, those people have to watch this video!

  • Thank you for watching! I agree, they are very smart, see more of them in the video response, Grackles are smart 2.

    Merry Christmas!

  • @magicbirdaustin

    Or people have to realize they can't fly. If you can fly who cares what people think. If I could fly I would land next to somebody and act like an idiot and then take off while they were watching just to laugh at them for not being able to fly and having all those books and libraries saying how smart humans are. And then follow them home and act real cute and nice for food and then have them cry when I leave them and never return. Because humans are so smart.

  • i am a grackle lover

  • Cool, me too. I have another video of a family of grackles, it shows the parent teaching the babies how to use water. So amazing to see them learning new things!

    Thanks for watching and check back for the new video later this week.:)

  • I love grackles. I think they're beautiful, intelligent, and I feed them almost every day. It's cute how they tilt their heads and look at me with their yellow eyes.

  • I love them too and, I have some footage of a parent teaching it's chick to dunk the dogfood in the water, so cute! Will post it as a response to this one soon. Check back for it later.

    Thanks for the kind comment.;)

  • grackles are my favorite native bird! i once gave on a chicken nugget and some potato from my lunch. it acted like i would hit it if i saw it eating my trash! it was a parking-lot bird. after a few mins., a few other grackles joined him. i wished i had fed them more. the summer was hard on them, and some of them are still bald on their heads and missing tail feathers, they just look like CRAP! gotta help them.

  • I'm sure they appreciated you sharing your food with them.:) They are a pleasure to watch and study. I'll have new video of them soon. Please check back for it. We're moving right now and I'm about to be without internet for a few days. Thanks for the nice comment, I'm glad you enjoyed the grackle's vid!

  • @Rubystars1000 I hate their guts, but I like them better than humans. Humans are disgusting. How about you?

  • i hate these damn things.

  • Aww. too bad. they are very smart birds and lots of fun to watch. Rarely do they cause any trouble here.

    Thanks for watching anyway.;)

  • actually it was more where i lived. see we had power lines extending the entire length of our driveway and grackles were the only birds with enough guts to nest right near our driveway and make short work of our cars' paint jobs. But i don't live there anymore, so i take back what i said.

  • not shot them!

  • No we don't shoot them. I only shoot with a camera.:)

    Thanks for watching!

  • no, shoot them with a gun.

  • Oh no, never! We only shoot people with guns.

    I like most birds.:)

  • okay...I think that a person is much more valuable than a bird, so Ill just continue to kill them

  • lol I was kidding. I'd only shoot a human in self defense. But the birds aren't any different than people. they have feelings, raise families and live just like most people do. So why should they be killed?

    We are all just making a living here.:)

  • that was intelligent...."The birds aren't any different than people"?? "they have feelings"???? hahahaha

  • Thank you, I am. My IQ is 141, what's yours? Also the latest scientific research on the human brain, as well as other animal brains using MRI, other imaging technology, we can see that the same parts of the brain we use for emotion also works the same in most higher species of animals, like birds & mammals like us. I'm a biologist, I study these things.

  • birds ARE like people, you know. and you don't need a high IQ to feel compassion for other animals. why don't YOU make a video and see how people respond to it?

  • You are right, my point exactly. It's not rocket science to see that animals feel pain, pleasure, anger and joy. Just like humans.:) I do have a new video of these birds. A parent actually teaching her chicks how to use water. Will post and respond to this.

    Thanks for your comment!

  • Hey all North Americans are smart :)

  • That's right! We are. Even our animals are smarter than some people.:)

    Thanks for watching.

  • I dont know about being smart or anything, but I do know that I love shooting them....they flipping take the damn poop out of their own nest and drop it in our pool! Hate them.

  • Well hopefully they'll aim in your mouth next time.

  • ya...if they wanna get their head blown off

  • lol! Thanks for watching the video and the reply to Cunningcrow, should be changed to shiteatingcrow instead.:)

  • lol! Sounds messy. Why we don't have a pool, just a couple of koi ponds. Honestly though, I'd rather deal with bird poop, it's biodegradable. Human waste is much worse, strewn along the road, in our waterways and air we breath. Sometimes I'd like to shoot humans. Oh, these birds are lots smarter than some people I know.:)

    Thanks for watching!

  • Sounds like the feelings mutual! Good thing there's more of them than you huh?

    A little shit's never killed anyone yet, at least not at my house.lol

  • dude! me too me and my neighbor kill at least 5 a day! are total is around 100 now

  • Ditto!

    See above.:)

  • We do the same thing to people who shoot animals.:)

  • It's amazing you were able to capture this on video. Great work!

  • I appreciate the nice commnent! thanks for watchingn the video.:)

    The grackles eat from my feeders daily, but they do prefer the dogfood, wet of course!

    Have a great weekend!

  • They are delicious too! Luckily they come in large quantities to make it a worthwhile meal

  • lol, I wouldn't know about that. But, it gives a whole new meaning to...."eating crow".:)

    Except these aren't crows.

    Thanks for watching, have a happy Mom's Day!

  • We have some grackles here, they're entertaining. A few years ago we first put out our birdfeeder, and in the summer some grackles came along and wanted to get in on the action. So they stood there for around an hour or so trying to figure out how to land on the tiny bird feeder without falling off. Finally one figured it out, he landed, wedged his tail up against the wall of the feeder, and then was able to crane his neck around and eat (it's a round feeder.) Now, generations later, I see

  • mother grackles teaching their young how to land on the feeder in that exact same way. None of them have any trouble getting up there anymore. It's really amazing how intelligent they are and how they share information like that.

  • I'm starting to see the babies coming to my feeders with their parents, so cute to watch them teach them how everything works.:)

    Thanks for watching and the nice comment!

  • That's cool! They are amazing birds and seem to learn fairly quickly too. They're bringing their fledglings to the feeders now.

    Thanks for watching.:)

  • Awesome footage! I really enjoyed the puddle action and how you captured some of this birds beautiful coloring:)

  • Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. I enjoy watching and filming them. They're very beautiful, especially when seen in the right light.

    Thanks for watching.:)

  • Wildstar1 - I have an African Grey -they live upto the age of 80 and some of them out live their owners - yet they are so intelligent as l know because of the know abilities of my own African Grey who is very smart.

  • I have heard many compare the intelligence of grackles, jays and crows to that of parrots. The African Greys being one of the smartest of all. I have a couple of small parrots, a Budgie, Quaker and Cockatiel. I'd love to get a larger parrot one day.:)

  • These birds are beautiful (we don't get them in our back yards here). I agree with you birds are intelligent.I love it they way the black birds will gather bits to build their nest and also how the male and female help each other to build nest together, animals are intelligent.

  • I agree. All animals are smart. If we were all stupid, we wouldn't live very long as a species.lol

    Thanks for the nice comment. I haven't seen as many at the feeders this year. They are beautiful and regardless of their reputation as bullies, they are quite peaceful when they do come to visit.

    Thanks for watching.:)

  • I love grackles! It's fun to watch them at dusk gathering in certain trees and making all kinds of noise. I call it a grackle party!

  • They are fun to watch! My day wouldn't be the same wthout hearing their calls when i fill the feeders, or bring the dogs inside.. then they can go steal food from their kennels.lol

    Thanks for watchi9ng.:)

  • Grackles are very intelligent, but they are one of the most aggressive. I like my birdies, espeically the blue jays, but sometimes birds are a-holes, like yesterday I saw a Blue Jay spink his toes onto a Morning Dove. I put out enough seeds soo my birdies won't have to fight, yet they still do.

  • Yeah they're greedy at the feeders no matter how much you put out. The Jays and Grackles usually behave themselves, but they do fight occasionally. They are fun to watch!

    Thanks for watching.;)

  • yeah, birds do that all the time. it isn't impressive.

  • I feel the same way about some humans, not very intellectually impressive at all.

    I guess the birds should've built a rocket instead.. huh?lol

  • Not necessarily build a rocket. My expectations aren't that high, I just feel as though that "bird trick" is an extremely common thing for birds to do. Showing that clip would be the equivalent to showing a clip of a bird using a bird bath to clean itself. But if you can marvel at the simple things in life, then more power to you.

  • Well, this is a LEARNED behavior. Lots do it, true, but they have to learn this from watching others do it. It's not something they're born knowing. A cakewalk for most primates, but can be taxing for other species.:)

  • How were you able to film that close? Did you hide the camera? It seemed they didn't know you were there. Good job.

  • lol, I shot from the window. They couldn't see me. And, this camera has a great little zoom! Great for close-ups.

    Thanks for the nice comment and for watching.:)

  • We have a bird like this in Ireland called a Starling they look very similar and are considered a pest also. They're pretty but shit all over the place... Wonder if they're related

  • We have starlings here too. Several different varieties encluding the European starlings. They're smart, adaptable birds that are found everywhere. Oh yeah, they make a pretty big mess on my car sometimnes.;( I think they are from they same family, but will have to check on that to be sure.

    Thanks for watching!

  • They remind me of crows. I was surprised they weren't Corvids when I looked them up on Wikipedia. Corvids are the crow family I think right? I might be spelling it wrong. But yah, they are kinda scary. 10 of them pile into the bird bath all at once and start bathing, it's kinda bizarre. The robins and doves take turns. But Grackles just pile in. lol

  • Hi!

    You'd think they'd be closely related to crows. In fact Blue Jays are in the family Corvidae with crows. Cool huh!lol Your are correct, crows and blue jays are corvids.:)

    Thanks for watching them.

  • Yes, grackles are pretty smart. The stupid squirrels in my yard have never been able to figure out how to get food out of my counter-weighted bird feeder, but when a grackle landed on it once he seemed to notice immediately that his weight on the bar was responsible for closing the doors to the food. Then he bypassed the system repeatedly by flapping his wings and sticking his beak underneath the doors to keep them from closing.

    Grackles are so funny . . . Nice video . . .

  • Thanks!

    They are very intelligent birds, I've seen them do some pretty neat things as well.

    Thanks for watching.:)

  • Great job on showing how beautifully colored these birds really are!

  • Thank you!

    They are beautiful birds, thanks for watching.:)

  • I love grackles! I used to live in Florida and we got boat-tails all the time. They shine like iron ore. I love all animals from elephants to grackles.

    Very amusing video. The first grackle looks really annoyed when grackle #2 takes a bath in his food-water. :)

  • Me too! Love all animals that is. The grackles are fun to watch. Haven't seen as many this year. They are strikingly beautiful! They. and most other species are welcome in my yard.:)

    LOL, I thought the same thing, the bird does seem annoyed at it's flock mate.

    Thanks for watching and the nice comment.

  • It's people who are the pests for thinking they have a place above any creature. Nice to have a little nature find it's way into our home.

  • Thanks, I enjoy all animals and feel they all deserve respect. Animals are intelligent, emotional beings, just like people. These birds definitely show those qualities.

    Thanks for watching!:)

  • The Patuxtent bird observitory mistakenly lists them as from family Fringillidae!! Obviously they are from Icteridae! Entertaining video :)

  • Thanks again. I think they're pretty neat birds and they're welcome to eat from my feeders. The dogs don't mind them stealing their food either.lol:)

    This is very intelligent behavior. Birds are not stupid creatures. Sounds like you know your birds!

    Thanks for watching.

  • Hehe, bad manners! :D Perhaps some territorial behaviour? To show the other birds "this is my puddle and you can go somewhere else"...

  • They're very smart birds, and some of them rude as well! But they are fascinating animals to watch. The one bird did seem really put-off when the other dived in for a bath!lol

    Thanks for watching.

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