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Birdaday Field Notes

ID comparison

Starling vs grackle vs crow: the black birds at your feeder

A European Starling is the chunky, short-tailed one with a long, slender bill and dark eyes; a Common Grackle is bigger and lanky, with a long tail, a heavier bill and a bright golden eye; an American Crow is far larger again and all black, bill and legs included, with a short, squared tail (Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds). Two smaller feeder visitors, the male Red-winged Blackbird and male Brown-headed Cowbird, also look black at a distance. All five are in one chart below, with a section on each and sourced ways to discourage them.

Jump to: Chart · Sizes · Quick ID key · European Starling · Common Grackle · American Crow · Red-winged Blackbird · Brown-headed Cowbird · Other look-alikes · Discouraging them

Starling vs grackle vs crow chart: field marks and feeders

Bird Length Bill Eye Tail Plumage and seasons Voice FeederWatch feeder types
European Starling (introduced) 7.9–9.1 in Long, slender, pointed; yellow in breeding season, dark in winter Dark Short Breeding: dark with purplish-green gloss. Fresh fall plumage: brown, covered in white spots that wear off by spring. Juvenile: pale brown Rattles, whirrs, whistles; mimics other birds Ground, large hopper, large tube, platform, suet cage
Common Grackle 11.0–13.4 in Long and heavy, longer than most blackbirds', with a hint of a downward curve Bright golden (young birds dark) Long Looks black far off; up close a glossy purple head and bronzy body. Females slightly less glossy; young birds dark brown Squeaky readle-eak, "like a rusty gate"; harsh chaa Ground, large hopper, platform
American Crow 15.8–20.9 in Heavy, straight, black — Fairly short, rounded or squared All black with a slight gloss, legs and bill too; molting birds look brownish or scaly Loud caw; more than 20 calls Ground, platform
Red-winged Blackbird 6.7–9.1 in Slender, conical — Medium length Male glossy black with red-and-yellow shoulder patches; female brown and crisply streaked conk-la-ree! song; harsh check Ground, large hopper, large tube, platform
Brown-headed Cowbird 6.3–8.7 in (female 6.3–7.9, male 7.5–8.7) Short, thick-based, almost finch-like Dark (female) Shorter than most blackbirds' Male glossy black with a brown head that can look black in poor light; female plain brown with fine belly streaks Flowing, gurgling song; clicks and whistles Ground, large hopper, platform

Lengths, marks and voice: each species' All About Birds identification and sounds pages. Feeder types: Project FeederWatch's Common Feeder Birds list. "—" means the source pages give no eye color as a field mark.

Sizes compared

Five black backyard birds drawn to one scaleGeneric side-view silhouettes, all facing left and drawn to one scale from the middle of each species' length range, with a 6-inch scale bar. Top row: 1 American Crow, by far the largest, with a heavy straight bill and a short squared tail; 2 Common Grackle, long-tailed with a long bill and a yellow eye. Bottom row: 3 European Starling, chunky with a short tail and a long slender yellow bill; 4 male Red-winged Blackbird with a red shoulder patch edged in yellow and a slender conical bill; 5 male Brown-headed Cowbird with a brown head, a short thick bill and a shorter tail. 1 2 3 4 5 06 in
  1. American Crow: 15.8–20.9 in; heavy, straight bill; short tail, rounded or squared at the end.
  2. Common Grackle: 11.0–13.4 in; long tail, long bill, golden eye.
  3. European Starling: 7.9–9.1 in; short tail, long slender bill (yellow in breeding season).
  4. Red-winged Blackbird (male): 6.7–9.1 in; red shoulder patch bordered in yellow, slender conical bill.
  5. Brown-headed Cowbird (male): 7.5–8.7 in; brown head, short thick bill, shorter tail.
Drawn for Birdaday Field Notes as generic silhouettes from the length ranges and shape notes on each species' All About Birds identification page, cited below. Each bird is drawn to one scale at the middle of its length range; body shapes are simplified and not to scale in detail.

The grackle is about the size of a Mourning Dove, and the Red-winged Blackbird about three-quarters of a grackle; the starling is smaller than an American Robin, and the crow nearly twice the size of a Blue Jay (All About Birds).

Quick ID key: which black bird is it?

  1. Crow-sized, all black down to the bill and legs, short squared tail: American Crow.
  2. Long tail, long bill, golden eye; struts on lawns: Common Grackle. A dark-eyed, brownish bird of the same shape is a young grackle.
  3. Short tail, long pointed bill, dark eye; yellow bill in spring and summer, white spots in fall and winter: European Starling.
  4. Red shoulder patch edged in yellow: male Red-winged Blackbird. A streaky brown bird with the same pointed bill is usually the female.
  5. Brown head on a black body, short thick bill: male Brown-headed Cowbird.

All About Birds adds one more starling-vs-grackle check: the starling's legs are pinkish, the grackle's dark. More on reading shape and bill first is in bird identification basics.

The five black birds

European Starling

Introduced · 7.9–9.1 in · not protected by the MBTA

Breeding adult European Starling perched on a bare branch against a blue sky: long pointed yellow bill, dark eye, glossy black plumage with purple and green sheen, short tail and pinkish legs
Breeding adult European Starling, Central Park, New York (March 2021): yellow bill, dark eye, iridescent plumage, short tail (All About Birds). A Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons; species and plumage as given on the file page.
Photo: Rhododendrites / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  • Look for: a chunky, blackbird-sized bird with a short tail and a long, slender bill; short, pointed wings in flight (All About Birds).
  • Seasons: new feathers grown in fall have bold white tips that wear away by spring, and the bill turns from dark to yellow as the breeding season nears (All About Birds).
  • Status: native to Europe. All About Birds says it was introduced into New York's Central Park in the late 1890s and now numbers about 200 million in North America; Audubon dates its arrival to 1890. The family is not covered by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (Federal Register, 2020).
  • At feeders: FeederWatch lists black-oil and hulled sunflower, cracked corn, fruit, millet, milo, oats, peanuts, peanut hearts and suet. Its FeederWatch feeder list includes a suet cage, and starlings often travel with blackbirds and grackles (All About Birds). Suet options are on the suet page.

Common Grackle

Native · 11.0–13.4 in · MBTA-protected

Common Grackle standing on gray rock, seen from behind and the side: glossy purple-blue head, pale yellow eye, long dark bill, bronzy-purple body and a long blue-glossed tail
Common Grackle showing its iridescence, Central Park, New York (May 2021): glossy purple head, golden eye, long tail (All About Birds). A Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons; species as given on the file page.
Photo: Rhododendrites / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  • Look for: a large, lanky blackbird with long legs, a long tail and a flat head; in flight the wings look short next to the tail (All About Birds).
  • Behavior: walks on lawns, pecking rather than scratching, and dominates smaller birds at feeders (All About Birds).
  • At feeders: the same foods FeederWatch lists for the starling, plus safflower, taken on the ground, from large hoppers and from platforms.

American Crow

Native · 15.8–20.9 in · MBTA-protected

American Crow perched on a bare snag against a clear blue sky in side view: all-black plumage, black legs and a heavy, straight black bill
American Crow, Marine Park, Brooklyn (May 2025): all black, legs and heavy bill included (All About Birds). A Quality image on Wikimedia Commons; species as given on the file page.
Photo: Rhododendrites / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  • Look for: a large, long-legged, thick-necked bird with a heavy, straight bill; broad, rounded wings with the tip feathers spread like fingers (All About Birds).
  • Behavior: very social, sometimes in flocks of thousands; often chases hawks and owls (All About Birds).
  • At feeders: FeederWatch lists ground and platform feeding only, with sunflower, corn, fruit, millet, milo, oats, peanuts and suet.

Red-winged Blackbird

Native · 6.7–9.1 in · MBTA-protected

Male Red-winged Blackbird calling with bill open on a boardwalk rail: glossy black body, red shoulder patch with a yellow lower border and a slender pointed bill
Male Red-winged Blackbird calling, John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, Philadelphia (May 2026): red shoulder patch bordered in yellow (All About Birds). A Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons; species and sex as given on the file page.
Photo: Chuck Homler, Focus On Wildlife / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  • Look for: a stocky, broad-shouldered blackbird with a slender, conical bill, often hump-backed when perched (All About Birds).
  • Sexes: males are an even glossy black with red-and-yellow shoulder badges; nonbreeding males look scaly with incomplete patches. Females are dark brown and crisply streaked, often with a whitish eyebrow. In coastal California the male's red patch has no yellow border (All About Birds).
  • Seasons: breeds in marshes; in winter it flocks with other blackbirds and starlings (All About Birds).
  • At feeders: FeederWatch lists sunflower, cracked corn, millet, milo, oats and peanut hearts, on the ground, platforms, large hoppers and large tubes.

Brown-headed Cowbird

Native · 6.3–8.7 in · MBTA-protected

Male Brown-headed Cowbird perched on a log: rich brown head, short thick dark bill, and glossy blue-black body and tail
Male Brown-headed Cowbird, Brooklyn: brown head, glossy black body, short thick bill (All About Birds). A Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons; species and sex as given on the file page.
Photo: Rhododendrites / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  • Look for: a smallish blackbird with a shorter tail and thicker head than most blackbirds; the bill is much shorter and thicker-based, "almost finch-like" (All About Birds).
  • Behavior: feeds on the ground in mixed flocks of blackbirds and starlings. Females lay their eggs in other species' nests, and the hosts raise the young (All About Birds).
  • At feeders: FeederWatch lists sunflower, cracked corn, millet, milo, oats and peanut hearts on the ground, platforms and large hoppers. Our seed chart notes that millet also draws cowbirds.

Other look-alikes

How to discourage them at feeders

Cornell's advice starts with the seed. Seed mixes tend to draw these birds more than chickadees, cardinals and goldfinches, and striped sunflower and safflower, with thick, hard shells, are harder for blackbirds to open. Grackles and blackbirds also tend to visit for a short window and move on (All About Birds). One caveat from FeederWatch's list: Common Grackles do eat safflower.

For starlings, Cornell suggests taking feeders down for a couple of weeks, keeping food off the ground, or switching for a while to nyjer in a tube feeder, because starlings find tube feeders hard to use. Peanuts in the shell and striped sunflower are also hard for their softer bills (All About Birds). Nyjer needs a feeder with very small ports (FeederWatch).

Feeder design can keep out the larger birds:

  1. Tube feeders with short perches suit finches but keep grackles and jays off (FeederWatch).
  2. A small hopper keeps grackles from perching comfortably; a large one lets grackles and doves feed (FeederWatch).
  3. A suet cage open only at the bottom is starling-resistant, while woodpeckers, nuthatches and chickadees feed hanging upside down (FeederWatch).
  4. Weighted perches and wire-mesh cages close the food to heavier birds or let only small birds through (All About Birds). The same designs are compared in bird feeder types and squirrel-proof feeders.

None of the five has nyjer, a small tube feeder or a small hopper on its FeederWatch list.

The law: Common Grackle, American Crow, Red-winged Blackbird and Brown-headed Cowbird are on the federal list of birds protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (50 CFR 10.13); the European Starling is not (Federal Register, 2020). Changing food and feeders is the route the sources above give. Keeping starlings out of nest boxes is covered in keeping House Sparrows out of birdhouses, and summer advice on cowbirds and grackles in summer bird feeding.

For your Bird-a-Day streak

Each of the five is a separate species and a separate day; log them in the streak tracker.

Sources