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Bird

Common Grackle

Quiscalus quiscula

Lives in Florida all year and nests here. Found in all 67 counties, across 22 habitats.

Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 67 counties
Habitats
22

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 67 counties
Habitats
22
Habitat models
Year-round

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Florida 22

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 22

Coastal dunes and beaches

White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola
Year-roundAtlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Interdunal WetlandGeorge Catlin, White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola (1834-35): high white dunes with scattered clumps of dune plants above the Gulf. Santa Rosa Island near Pensacola, FloridaWhite Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola, George Catlin (1796-1872), 1834-1835. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal Plain hammocks

In the Jungle, Florida
Year-roundSouth Florida Hardwood Hammock; Southern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock; Southern Coastal Plain Hydric HammockWinslow Homer, In the Jungle, Florida (1904): cabbage palms, saw palmetto and fallen trunks in a dense, shady hammock, with a wildcat in the branches. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Florida (Winslow Homer, In the Jungle, Florida, 1904)In the Jungle, Florida, Winslow Homer, 1904. Public domain. Source record.

Freshwater marshes

The Great Florida Marsh
Year-roundSouthern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Nupea Modifier; South Florida Everglades Sawgrass Marsh; Floridian Highlands Freshwater MarshMartin Johnson Heade, The Great Florida Marsh (1886): open marsh and lily-dotted water beneath live oaks and cabbage palms. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Florida (Heade, The Great Florida Marsh, 1886; North Carolina Museum of Art)The Great Florida Marsh, Martin Johnson Heade, 1886. Public domain. Source record.

Pine flatwoods

Georgia Pines
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 FlatwoodsGeorge Inness, Georgia Pines (1890): tall, straight pines over an open, grassy floor in a south Georgia pine woods. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Georgia pine woods (George Inness, 1890; site not named), a neighboring state.Georgia Pines, George Inness (1825-1894), 1890. Public domain. Source record.

Pine savannas

Beautiful Savannah in the Pine Woods of Florida
Year-roundEast Gulf Coastal Plain Savanna and Wet Prairie; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and FlatwoodsGeorge Catlin, Beautiful Savannah in the Pine Woods of Florida (1834-35): an open grassy savanna with a shallow pond, ringed by tall pines, with palmettos and red wildflowers. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Pine woods of Florida (George Catlin, 1834-35; Smithsonian American Art Museum)Beautiful Savannah in the Pine Woods of Florida, George Catlin, 1834-1835. Public domain. Source record.

Swamps

Florida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha
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 DomeFlorida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha (1899): a dark swamp-lined river at sunset, with cypress and hardwoods crowding both banks. Ocklawaha River, FloridaFlorida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha, Detroit Photographic Co. (chromolithograph), 1899. Public domain. Source record.

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

Forest edges and thickets

Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.

Year-roundDisturbed/Successional - Shrub Regeneration; Successional Shrub/Scrub (Other)

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

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. Those recorded in Florida first, the rest by region.

In Florida 4

  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Year-round.
  • South Florida Dwarf Cypress Savanna Year-round.
  • South Florida Pine Rockland Year-round.
  • South Florida Wet Marl Prairie Year-round.
Elsewhere in the South (33)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Maritime Forest Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood and Mixed Forest Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Xeric River Dune Year-round.
  • Central and Southern Appalachian Montane Oak Forest Year-round.
  • Central and Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • Central and Southern Appalachian Spruce-Fir Forest Year-round.
  • Central Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Year-round.
  • Cumberland Riverscour Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest Year-round.
  • Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Year-round.
  • Mississippi River Riparian Forest Year-round.
  • South-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest Year-round.
  • South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian Year-round.
  • Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland Year-round.
  • Southern and Central Appalachian Bog and Fen Year-round.
  • Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest Year-round.
  • Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Appalachian Low Mountain Pine Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Mesic Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest Year-round.
Northeast (5)
  • Appalachian Hemlock-Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Fresh and Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Year-round.
  • Central Appalachian Oak and Pine Forest Year-round.
  • Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry Hardwood Forest Year-round.
Land cover and other classes (48)
  • Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood Year-round.
  • Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-Line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood 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.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier Year-round.
  • Central Appalachian Floodplain - Forest Modifier Year-round.
  • Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier Year-round.
  • Developed, Low Intensity Year-round.
  • Developed, Medium Intensity Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Mixed 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 - Offsite Hardwood 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.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Herbaceous Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest - Offsite Pine Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Juniper Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Year-round.
  • Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier 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.
  • Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Year-round.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Year-round.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
  • South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier Year-round.
  • South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest - Xeric Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression Swamp Year-round.
  • Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Year-round.

All habitats

Seasons in Florida

  • Year-round: nests here, in all 67 counties.

Food plants

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Plants matched by genus.

Native plants in these genera 111

Plant genera in its diet records (16)
  • Zea Seeds. 32 diet records. 0 native plants in Florida
  • Helianthus 8 diet records. 14 native plants in Florida
  • Quercus Seeds. 2 diet records. 43 native plants in Florida
  • Sorghum 2 diet records. 0 native plants in Florida
  • Ambrosia 1 diet record. 4 native plants in Florida
  • Avena Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Florida
  • Digitaria 1 diet record. 8 native plants in Florida
  • Oryza Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Florida
  • Panicum 1 diet record. 5 native plants in Florida
  • Paspalum 1 diet record. 19 native plants in Florida
  • Phytolacca 1 diet record. 1 native plant in Florida
  • Polygonum 1 diet record. 10 native plants in Florida
  • Setaria 1 diet record. 4 native plants in Florida
  • Toxicodendron Fruit. 1 diet record. 3 native plants in Florida
  • Triticum 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Florida
  • Xanthium 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Florida

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Florida, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.

Common Grackle uses many habitats in Florida; these are its 3 most characteristic.

Swamps

Birds 94

Plants 353

All of swamps in Florida

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Birds 117

Plants 1524

All of roadsides, fields and disturbed ground in Florida

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Birds 76

Plants 286

All of floodplain and bottomland forests in Florida

USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.

Sources