BRONZED GRACKLE 411 



but the corn, comprising 15 percent of the total food, is fed only to 

 the older birds. The nestling bronzed grackles, in eating insect 

 pests such as cutworms, May beetles, weevils, and grasshoppers far 

 outweigh the harm done by the consumption of corn. 



Because of the variable nature of the food of the bronzed grackle, 

 there is little wonder that a marked difference of opinion has arisen 

 in regard to its economic status. However, not until we have a view 

 of the entire picture, can we safely pass judgment. There seems to 

 be no justification of a general control of this species but when 

 thousands of these birds descend on a farmer's cornfields, he should 

 be permitted to employ every reasonable means to protect his interests. 



Behavior. — The bronzed grackle, a sleek, well-groomed bird, is 

 striking in appearance when his iridescent plumage flashes its varied 

 colors in the bright sun. A single bird may sometimes appear cow- 

 ardly toward an adversary, but in a group the grackles are aggressive. 

 I have seen a mass of 40 give chase to a large, powerful eagle that 

 flew over the colony and continue to harass the intruder until it was 

 well away from their nesting place. Louis B. Kalter (1932) saw six 

 to eight hundred grackles perched in some oaks near a small lake. 

 About a third of them, apparently without provocation, left and 

 pursued an osprey, v/hich, with the birds in pursuit, circled the lake 

 twice, then climbed higher into the air where the wind was much 

 stronger and colder. The grackles abandoned the chase. 



Two males will fight fiercely in competition for a female, and they 

 frequently battle in the colony in defense of their territories. Grackles 

 are devoted to their young and seem fearless in defending them from 

 danger. One only needs to climb a tree containing a nest of young 

 to be impressed with the vigor and boldness of their attacks. I 

 have had them strike me with blows sufficient to knock off my hat 

 when I attempted to remove a squawking young for closer examination. 



Sometimes, when subjected to unusual conditions or under stress 

 of hunger, grackles resort to wholesale killing. Ruthven Deane (1895) 

 gives an account, by Jesse N. Cummings, of the activities of crow black- 

 birds at Anahuac, Tex. On February 14-15, 1895, an unusual snow- 

 storm lasting 30 hours covered the ground to a depth of 20 inches on 

 the level and remained for 3 or 4 days. On a large piece of ground 

 along the bay shore, kept free of snow by water flowing from an 

 artesian well, about 200 jack snipe gathered in a space not over 100 

 feet square. There, Cummings saw rusty and bronzed grackles kill 

 10 or 12 of the birds and he counted 30 or 40 dead ones in other places. 

 At this same time the blackbirds also attacked the robins about his 

 house, and while he did not ascertain the numbers killed, he saw 

 many lying on the snow about his place and along the shore of the bay. 

 The blackbirds fed on the brains of their victims, leaving the remainder 



