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photo ©Eric Tilton

By far the most entertaining thing about male grackles, though, is their behavior when staking out their territory. Male grackles seem to spend at least as much time showing off for other males as they do hunting for food.

There are two main behaviors I've observed. First we have the neck bend, an exercise in seeing who has the most flexible vertibrae:

photo ©Eric Tilton

And then there's the puff-and-sing, in which the male poofs himself out and sings this whirling shriek that ends in an explosive, crackling note. I guess some people find it shrill and annoying, but I just think it's funny. I don't know, maybe I just enjoy laughing at macho displays in any species.

photo ©Eric Tilton