grackle
2
8.9
- noun
- /ˈɡrækəl/
- US
:
tordo
- At dawn, a grackle perched on the fence, its iridescent feathers shimmering in the sunlight.
- a common grackle
Examples
-
She sipped tea, listening to the grackles and mynahs arguing.
Fiction book (2002) -
A grackle right now is chewing loudly in the next yard.
Fiction book (1990) -
If Walter were to draw him as a bird, it would probably be a common grackle.
Fiction book (1995) -
All of us were able to get a peek at him before the mess of grackles landed and scared him off.
Blog text (12) -
Some grackles were scavenging in a field.
Fiction book (2001) -
"Hello, bird," she said to a grackle in the shrub, who tipped his head and looked at the seeds she was holding out in her hand.
Fiction book (1998) -
Ouida pulled up the kitchen window, which looked into the overgrown cherry laurel trees where grackles were roosting.
Fiction book (1998) -
Overhead, sparrows came together in soaring assembly, and here and there, grackles pierced the air with their prehistoric cries.
Fiction book (2001) -
Flycatchers and hummingbirds flitted in the roadside chaparral, and grackles chattered.
Fiction book (1999) -
Jeremy had seen, daring to banquet on thistle while other, larger birds, grackles or even blue jays, hulked in the lilacs nearby.
Fiction book (1997)
Synonyms
A black bird from eastern North America with shiny feathers
A large black bird with a long tail and shiny feathers
A bird in the eastern United States that has shiny purple-black feathers
A blackbird with dark shiny feathers that show reddish edges in autumn
A type of black bird in North and South America with shiny feathers
Compounds
Surface Forms
Etymology
Grackle comes from the old Latin word graculus, which meant a 'jackdaw' or small, noisy black bird. That's why grackle is used for the long-tailed American blackbird with glossy dark feathers and a loud, chattering call.