PHOENIX — Heather Mitchell drove 30 miles across Phoenix last week with the temperature above 110 degrees, sitting next to a cheeping baby grackle that had dropped from its nest. Someone had posted ...

These medium-sized, lanky birds have glossy dark feathers. Their heads look blue or purple in the light, in contrast to their bronzed iridescent bodies. In some parts of the southeast, their bodies ...

Are your feeders dominated by grackles? Ours are too. Common grackles are large birds, 11-13 inches long, with long beaks. Their coloring is black with a beautiful iridescent sheen of blue, purple and ...

Starlings, similar in size to blackbirds, have longer bills and square tails. "Starlings and most blackbird species overlap ...

Last week, I wrote about the red-winged blackbird, one of the first migratory species to arrive in our area in the spring, characterizing their great flocks as the vanguard of an approaching army, ...

In the right light, this common grackle, often called a "black" bird is a rainbow of iridescence. BILL DANIELSON / For the Recorder Sign up for the Gazette's morning newsletter and get essential news ...