Joseph and tweeters,

I looked at your blackbird photos from the supermall from 10/22/02, as you
requested. The "Great-tailed Grackle" isn't that species, as its tail is
much much too small. Its bill looks a bit large, but it's probably the
angle; I see it as a male Brewer's Blackbird. Rusty Blackbirds should have
much rusty coloration at this time of year, even mature males. Common
Grackles also have a grackle tail, much longer than the bird shown here and
quite graduated, the outer feathers much shorter than the central ones.
Common Grackles that turn up in this area are also very bronzy-green, with
a blue-purple head and neck. Their bill is also thicker at the base than
the bird shown. I can't explain why your second bird would have looked 1.4
times the size of the other Brewer's. The brownish tones on the head are
characteristic of fresh fall immature male Brewer's, even to the faint
indication of an eyeline. This is the plumage that David Sibley
erroneously called "adult male nonbreeding" in his field guide.

Hope this is of some help.

Dennis

Dennis Paulson, Director phone 253-879-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax 253-879-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail dpaulson at ups.edu
1500 N. Warner, #1088
Tacoma, WA 98416-1088
http://www.ups.edu/biology/museum/museum.html