Boat-Tailed Grackle

Recognition
The males are glossy blackish birds with a longish tail. The eyes are bright yellow. The females are smaller and are two-tone brown in coloration.  Young males look like adult males but they don’t have the bright yellow eyes.  About 15”.

Where seen
Seen in big numbers around the Walmart area and Home Depot areas, just off Pine Island Road. Can often be seen in small groups in the cattle fields along Bayshore Road.

Jimmy’s notes
Cheeky chaps:  when around the coast and the river, these birds can often be seen trying to scrounge food and tidbits at the piers at Naples and Fort Myers beaches. The males often can be seen sitting at the top of a bush singing their stuff with their tails fully extended.
In the photograph below, the tail is shaped like the keel of a boat, hence the name of this species.