Dealing with Aggressive Blackbirds
The Carib Grackle is a member of the Oriole family and is
commonly known as simply a "Blackbird". It is also called the
Lesser Antillean Grackle, while its Latin Name is Quiscalus
lugubris. It is a glossy black bird with a long slender curved
black bill. The iris of the eye is yellowish white and the tail
is long and keel shaped ("V" shaped). Females are slightly
larger and less glossy while juveniles are dull brown with dark
brown eyes. The size of the adult is between 28-34 cm (11-13 in)
and the weight is between 74-142 g (2.61-5.01 ounces). This
grackle is found throughout the islands of the Lesser Antilles,
Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas and Brazil. It is closely
related to, but smaller than, the Greater Antillean Grackle
(Quiscalus niger) that is found on the islands of the Greater
Antilles. It is similar in appearance to the male Shiny Cowbird
with the difference being the shape of the bill and the colour
of the iris.
The Carib Grackle is common resident of all the countries in its
range and is generally observed in groups. It is a noisy bold
bird that spends a large amount of time strutting on the ground
with its head held high. It is almost omnivorous eating fruits,
insects, seeds, frogs, lizards, snails and discarded human food
such as bread, beans, french fries and meat. The combination of
its boldness and eating habits has resulted in this bird being
very common around human habitation and is seen in household
gardens, parks, open-air restaurants, shopping mall parking lots
etc.
This frequency around humans sometimes results in problems for
people. These birds nest in trees, thick shrubbery such as ixora
and ledges of houses and their nesting period is from May to
November with the heaviest nesting in June and July. The Carib
Grackle is a very aggressive bird when nesting and will attack
anything, including humans that it believes is too near the
nest. Groups of Grackles will band together to attack and
fearlessly swoop at the head. They will repeatedly attack until
they drive the intruder away and with each successive swoop will
get closer and closer to the head. In attacking they use their
claws and beak. In some cases they have literally prevented
individuals from using their gardens during the nesting period
or forced homeowners to run anytime that they venture out of
their house.
The solution to the problem is the removal of the nest. Whenever
a homeowner sees large quantities of these Grackles gathering in
the vicinity of their home during the nesting period, they
should immediately begin looking for the location of the
nest(s). It should be removed before the birds have an
opportunity to lay their eggs. If the nest is removed the birds
will move to another location to lay their eggs (hopefully away
from the home), eliminating the problem for the homeowner. It
may be necessary to remove the nest a second time as they may
immediately return to the same spot to rebuild the nest. Be
forewarned that any attempt at nest removal will cause these
birds to attack even harder. The homeowner should therefore wear
head protection such as a construction hard hat, safety goggles
for the eyes and long sleeved shirts.