Common Grackle    Quiscalus quiscula

Conservation Status

General Status in Canada : Secure

COSEWIC Status : Not assessed

The range of habitats and food sources that the Common Grackle can tolerate, as well as their ability to tolerate human habitation and integrate into urban centres has made the Common Grackle a highly successful species. Since European Settlement in North America, the Common Grackle has been expanding its range northward and westward, and this expansion continues today. In many areas, they are a pest species due to high population numbers and the damage inflicted on crops in fall and winter. Common grackles are also considered to be a health risk: roost sites used more than three years can harbour the fungus, Histoplasma capsulatum, the cause of histoplasmosis, a potentially fatal respiratory disease in humans. Pest populations are targeted for control and this could be responsible for the slight decrease in population abundances that have been detected by the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BSS) in recent years. This decline is not considered a conservation concern.

Reference(s)

Peer, B. D., and E. K. Bollinger. 1997. Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula), The Birds of North America Online, . A. Poole, Ed. Ithaca: Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology; Retrieved from The Birds of North America Online database: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/271