Bird

Common Grackle

Quiscalus quiscula

Names as given by USGS GAP.

Year-round in Florida, breeding, in the USGS range maps. Its habitat models include 22 habitats found here.

Seasons here: Year-round
Breeding: Breeding
Range: 67 of 67 counties
Habitats: 22

Male Common Grackle, whole bird — **Male**. (c) Mike Brady, some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY 4.0. iNaturalist photo 259736067. Source-provided large resize; no crop or image edits.

At a glance

Group: Birds
Seasons in Florida: Year-round
Breeding: Breeding
Counties in known range: 67 of 67
Habitat models: Year-round

Where it lives

Southeast habitat models (USGS, 2001 land cover). The bird is not in every place a habitat occurs. USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models Year-round model

Habitats in Florida 22

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. Shared habitat, not food.

1 of 22

Year-roundDisturbed/Successional - Shrub Regeneration; Successional Shrub/Scrub (Other)Named place / source context. Shown: Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Georgia and Tennessee; which part is not recorded, a neighboring state.Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields, Richard Schlecht, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Year-roundSouthern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Nupea Modifier; South Florida Everglades Sawgrass Marsh; Floridian Highlands Freshwater MarshRegional / representative. Shown: Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Georgia; representative pond ecosystem, a neighboring state.Georgia pond and emergent wetland, Robert 'Bob' Hynes, 1997. Public domain. Source record.

Year-roundSouthern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier; Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall; East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp; Atlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp; South Florida Bayhead Swamp; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp; South Florida Cypress Dome; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress DomeRegional / representative. Shown: Southern coastal swamps, Florida to Virginia; state not identified, a neighboring state.Loblolly bay in a coastal swamp, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

Year-roundAtlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Interdunal Wetland

Coastal Plain hammocks

Dense, evergreen groves of live oak, magnolia and other hardwoods in the southern Coastal Plain, from dry oak domes to wet hydric hammocks and south Florida's tropical hammocks; salt-shaped maritime hammocks are maritime forests.

Year-roundSouth Florida Hardwood Hammock; Southern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock; Southern Coastal Plain Hydric Hammock

Coastal Plain seepage bogs

Open, wet, seepage-fed bogs of the Coastal Plain and Sandhills, often with pitcher plants.

Year-roundSouthern Coastal Plain Herbaceous Seepage Bog

Depression ponds and limesinks

Shallow ponds in Coastal Plain depressions, such as limesinks and the ponds in some Carolina bays, that rise and fall with the seasons.

Year-roundAtlantic Coastal Plain Depression Pondshore

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

Year-round

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

Year-roundSouthern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

Year-roundAtlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest; Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest

Florida scrub

Evergreen scrub oaks, sand pine and rosemary on deep, white, drought-prone sand ridges, burned rarely but intensely; distinct from the longleaf and turkey oak sandhills.

Year-round

Freshwater tidal marshes

Marshes along tidal rivers where the water is fresh but rises and falls with the tide.

Year-roundFlorida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh; Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh

Mangrove swamps

Tidal forests and thickets of red, black and white mangrove along sheltered tropical and subtropical shores.

Year-round

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

Year-roundSouthwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock; Southeast Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock; East Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest

Moist forests

Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.

Year-roundEast Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest

Pine flatwoods

Flat, sandy Coastal Plain pine woodlands, wetter than sandhills and denser than savannas.

Year-roundEast Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier; South Florida Pine Flatwoods; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods; Central Florida Pine Flatwoods

Pine savannas

Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.

Year-roundEast Gulf Coastal Plain Savanna and Wet Prairie; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods

Pocosins and bay forests

Dense evergreen shrub wetlands and bay forests on wet, acid peat of the Coastal Plain.

Year-roundAtlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

Year-roundDeveloped, Open Space; Cultivated Cropland; Pasture/Hay; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration; Utility Swath - Herbaceous; Ruderal Upland - Old Field

Salt and brackish marshes

Coastal marshes flooded by salty or brackish tides.

Year-roundAtlantic Coastal Plain Central Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh; Atlantic Coastal Plain Indian River Lagoon Tidal Marsh; Mississippi Sound Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh; Florida Big Bend Salt-Brackish Tidal Marsh

Sandhills

Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.

Year-roundFlorida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Open Understory Modifier

Tree plantations and managed pine

Planted or intensively managed stands of pine or hardwoods grown for timber; a land use rather than a natural community.

Year-roundDeciduous Plantation; Evergreen Plantation or Managed Pine; Managed Tree Plantation

Other habitats in its models (90)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Florida.

Developed, Low Intensity Year-round
Developed, Medium Intensity Year-round
Central and Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest Year-round
East Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest Year-round
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Year-round
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Year-round
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Juniper Modifier Year-round
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round
Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest - Xeric Year-round
Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Year-round
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Year-round
Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest Year-round
Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood Year-round
Central and Southern Appalachian Montane Oak Forest Year-round
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest Year-round
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest Year-round
Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Year-round
South Florida Pine Rockland Year-round
Southern Piedmont Mesic Forest Year-round
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest Year-round
Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Maritime Forest Year-round
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Hardwood Modifier Year-round
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Hardwood Modifier Year-round
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Year-round
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine Modifier Year-round
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest - Offsite Pine Modifier Year-round
Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Year-round
Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Year-round
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry Hardwood Forest Year-round
Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland Year-round
Central Appalachian Oak and Pine Forest Year-round
Appalachian Hemlock-Hardwood Forest Year-round
Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest Year-round
Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest Year-round
South-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest Year-round
Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood and Mixed Forest Year-round
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Year-round
Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Year-round
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-Line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Year-round
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Year-round
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Year-round
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Year-round
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Year-round
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Year-round
Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Year-round
Southern Appalachian Low Mountain Pine Forest Year-round
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Year-round
Central and Southern Appalachian Spruce-Fir Forest Year-round
Atlantic Coastal Plain Xeric River Dune Year-round
Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Year-round
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Year-round
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Year-round
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland and Forbland Year-round
Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh Year-round
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Year-round
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Year-round
Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Year-round
Atlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin Year-round
Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh Year-round
Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Fresh and Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Year-round
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Year-round
Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier Year-round
Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier Year-round
Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Year-round
South Florida Dwarf Cypress Savanna Year-round
Southern and Central Appalachian Bog and Fen Year-round
South Florida Wet Marl Prairie Year-round
Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Year-round
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Year-round
Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression Swamp Year-round
Central Appalachian Floodplain - Forest Modifier Year-round
Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier Year-round
South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier Year-round
Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Year-round
East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Herbaceous Modifier Year-round
South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Year-round
Mississippi River Riparian Forest Year-round
Cumberland Riverscour Year-round
Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Year-round
Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest Year-round
Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Year-round
Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Year-round
South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian Year-round
East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Year-round
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Year-round
Central Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Year-round
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods Year-round