Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Steve’s Bird Of The Day #31.
Hello again! As mentioned yesterday, here is the purple headed variety of the common grackle. Otherwise these two grackles look the same and are always together. They breed from the gulf coast to northern Canada. They are 11 to 13 inches (28 to 34cm) long, but they do have long tails making up a good portion of that length. They like to do something called “anting” where they lay on the ground next to an ant colony and allow the ants to crawl all over them. The ants release formic acid on the bird which helps to repel lice and other insects. Other birds will do this too. The oldest recorded grackle (not in captivity) was 23 years old, so they can live a long time. But their numbers have decreased by about 60% in the last 40 years. Have a wonderful day everyone and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2021 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 
Interesting facts about the grackle ! I would like to see that ! Nice pic !…have a peaceful rest and you too, Muffin ! ☕️☕️😴😻🤫🙂
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Thanks Sharon, glad you liked it. I have seen the “anting” with the grackles, robins and flickers. Have a good night!😀😺📷🌙
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What a strange thing to do…this “anting” thing. 🤔 Nice pics. 🐦
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Yes, I have seen the grackles do it and also robins and flickers.🙂 I guess it’s a good way to get rid of lice which can be a problem for birds.😬 And the ants get some food out of it too (the lice).😄 Thanks so much!😃😸
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Anting? I never heard of that Nature is So cool
Keep laughing, It don’t cost nothing
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Yes, it is an interesting activity, the birds get rid of lice, the ants get food. A win win situation. I have seen grackles, robins and flickers doing this.
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Such fascinating facts, Steve! 23 years is amazing for a bird! And anting, I’ve not heard of. Cool stuff! 🌞🌺🍳 🧈 🥞 🧇 🥓☕️☕️
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Thanks Eugenia! Yes, anting is a cool one. I have seen grackles, robins and flickers doing this. The birds get rid of lice and the ants get food! I never thought that they would live that long, especially for a smaller bird. Have a great day!😃😸☕☕🌞
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Interesting, that’s a brown crow 🧐and you named it a what 😜purple headed grackle …how did you find all these too 🤔 did you do anting too 😜😂😂 don’t tell where it bite you 🤣🤣 I got bites in lot of places… no can’t say that here 😂🤗🤗
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Actually grackles are much smaller than crows and they don’t caw like a crow,🤔 they grack like a grackle.🤣🤣 And squeak like a rusty door hinge.😁😂😹
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ha ha 🤣😂 that’s nice to imagine the sound of them 😸😸😸
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It is a rather odd sound!😂🤣😹
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😂🤣 Yes it is… I tried to mimic… cough cough… no I’m not trying 😂😂😔
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Kind of like “eeeeerrrrrrkkk”😂😹🤣
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Exactly 😳 myself sounded like errrrr co co errrr cuh cuh 🙄🤔 need more practice 🤔
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Don’t forget to fluff up your feathers while doing it, that’s what they do!😂😂🤣🤣🙄
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😂🤣😂🤣 yep, will remember that one 😜
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😂😂😹😹🤣🤣
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Very interesting information Uncle Steve 🥰😍
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Thank you for reading Simon!😀😺🌞
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