Your daily bird in GTA VI: Who am I?
This mysterious bird is seen in trailer one, 00:01. To figure out what this mysterious bird might be, I've spent hours to analyze and here is my educated guess. With some initial info, we know it is an urban bird that flew in flocks, likes to stay in coastal, marshy environments, and is willing to stay on the power line. So among all the birds possibles we've narrowed it down to these: grackles, starlings, mourning doves, rock pigeons, house sparrows, and other blackbirds (grackles are a subset of blackbird). Judging from their slender sihouette, we can rule out mourning doves and rock pigeons --- they are just too fat. From the relatively larger size, we can rule out the smaller ones like starlings and house sparrows. Now it is just the Red-winged Blackbird and grackles. Grackles are more likely as it is larger in size (measuring 10–17 inches in length) than Red-winged Blackbirds (measuring 8.7–9.4 inches in length), and it is prevalent in cities. So that is my initial guess, and I thought that is the best I can do. But I got up in the middle of the night. What if some guy from Texas called me out? Saying "we have these birds in Houston too, these birds are everywhere, you are just randomly guessing, shame on you to call yourself a bird expert" Nope I need to be more specific than that. After a few more hours of research, here is my answer: it is a, drumroll please, BOAT-TAILED GRACKLE! According to Post, W., J. P. Poston, and G. T. Bancroft (2020) (so Cornell guy), the majority of the boat-tailed grackle are habitated in Florida, while they have a flocking behaviour and likes to stay on the wires. So it has to be it. The type of grackle in Texas is the great-tailed grackle, so screw you hypothetical Texas guy : )
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Discussion & Comments
Discussion (3)
Boat-tailed Grackles (Quiscalus major) are large, striking blackbirds that practically rule the Florida coastlines. The males are unmistakable with their glossy, iridescent feathers that shine with blue and purple hues in the sun, and they sport a massive, incredibly long tail shaped like the keel of a boat, which gives them their name. The females look completely different, being about half the size and a warm, cinnamon-brown color with a much shorter tail. Both sexes have long, pointed bills and a very confident, almost swaggering way of walking along the ground.
@faunaarrrr Grackles in general are also incredibly clever and resourceful when it comes to grooming and eating. They are known to practice a curious behavior called "anting," where they pick up live ants and rub them all over their feathers. The ants secrete formic acid when threatened, which the birds use as a natural pesticide to rid themselves of mites and lice. Additionally, if a grackle finds a piece of food that is too hard or dry, they will often carry it to a nearby puddle or birdbath to dunk it and soften it up before eating.
@faunaarrrr One of the most fascinating things about Boat-tailed Grackles is their dramatic social structure. The males play absolutely no role in raising the chicks, building the nests, or feeding the young. Instead, a dominant male will spend all his energy fiercely defending a prime nesting territory, usually a safe spot over water like a clump of cattails, and essentially guards a colony of females who build their nests closely together within his domain.