General Description: Common Grackles (Quiscalus quiscula) are medium-sized, black birds with yellow eyes and fairly long tails. Up close, males are glossy blue-black. The bill is long and heavy.

Taxonomy: Passeriformes, Icteridae.

Favored Habitat: Farm fields, marshes, parks, urban areas. Can be a pest of grain crops.

Where to Find: Don't look for Common Grackles around Las Vegas. Rather, look for them from Montana to New Mexico and eastward. They are, however, occasionally reports from the Las Vegas area, so always keep an eye out for them.

Comments: In flight, these can fold the sides of their tail upward to form a boat-like keel. One species of grackle is even called the Boat-tailed Grackle. Sometimes it looks like the tail is turned sideways.