Common Grackle (also Purple Grackle)

This feather likely came from a large, long-tailed blackbird with a heavy bill, bright golden eye, and glossy blue-purple body. Common Grackles forage in noisy flocks and give harsh, resonant calls.

The vane is dark chocolate-brown to blackish with conspicuous blue-violet structural iridescence on one side; the shaft is pale ivory. Grackles commonly show bronze, purple, and blue gloss that changes with viewing angle.

Mostly pennaceous and tightly interlocked, with a loose, fluffy plumulaceous base and visible barb wear along the margins.

The rachis is slender, pale, and slightly curved; barbs are densely arranged toward the tip but become soft and separated basally, with darker pigmentation concentrated in the vane.

Smooth, glossy, and moderately stiff on the iridescent vane; the basal portion is softer and downy. The purple sheen is structural rather than a simple pigment color.

Likely breast, flank, or shoulder; the moderate width and rounded tip do not match a strongly asymmetrical primary.

Strong blue-violet gloss, pale shaft, large size, and soft basal down are characteristic of grackle feathers, though exact species identification from one body feather is not certain.

Wetlands, lakeshores, woodland edges, agricultural fields, parks, and urban areas; nests commonly occur in dense shrubs or trees near water.

Resident or seasonally migratory across much of eastern and central North America, including Vermont; northern birds often move south in winter.

An adaptable omnivore and important prey species, it consumes insects, seeds, grains, and carrion while helping redistribute seeds. Populations remain widespread, though local numbers can be affected by habitat change, persecution, and contaminants.

Boat-tailed and Great-tailed Grackles can show similar purple gloss but are generally larger and more coastal or southern. Common Raven and crow feathers are usually broader, less vividly violet, and lack this combination of body-feather softness and grackle sheen.

Iridescence varies dramatically with illumination and angle. Grackles are highly adaptable omnivores and may use communal winter roosts containing thousands of birds.

Blackbird feathers have appeared in decorative arts and fly-tying, but possession of wild native bird feathers in the United States is generally restricted under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Search beneath roost trees, feeding areas, and wetland edges, especially after late-summer molt. Compare gloss under changing angles of light and examine nearby feathers for the species’ long, strongly graduated tail feathers.

Good condition overall, with mild fraying and age-related wear at the base; no obvious fault bars, oiling, or parasite damage is visible.

Vermont