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In Defense of Big Black Birds
Let’s take a moment to appreciate the beauty and importance of big black birds.
© Greg Lavaty
Grackles, vultures, and other big black birds are often disparaged by people who’d rather they stay out of sight. But Marcus Rosten, an environmental educator and co-organizer of Black Birders Week, appreciates these birds for the important roles they play in nature and the ways their stories reflect his own experience as a Black birder.
This year, Black Birders Week is celebrating miraculous shades of brown by highlighting the beauty and importance of sparrows while also drawing parallels with the struggles and triumphs of Black birders. Learn more about how to participate in this week’s events here.
BirdNote®
In Defense of Big Black Birds
Written by Marcus Rosten
This is BirdNote. I’m Marcus Rosten.
I always find myself defending the black birds. You know, the ones at your feeders that are a little bigger and louder than the sparrows. The ones that some people prefer to shoo away, like the Common Grackle.
[Common Grackle flock calling, ML615563286]
Grackles often arrive in noisy flocks, and maybe people see them as too loud, too reckless, too much. But I welcome them. Of all the birds at my feeder, they may need the food the most. Common Grackle populations have dropped by about 50% over the last 50 years — they’re now considered a “near threatened” species.
And grackles aren’t the only big black birds that are underappreciated. Take turkey vultures for example.
[Turkey Vulture hiss, ML317760061]
Some people recoil at the sight of their bald, red heads. But vultures provide an irreplaceable service — cleaning up carrion as nature’s master recyclers.
As a Black birder, I can’t help but defend these birds — I see myself in them. Moving through spaces where I’m watched a little closer, where I have to justify my belonging, where just existing can make others uncomfortable.
During Black Birders Week, let’s take a moment to appreciate all the big black birds out there — and the important roles they play.
[Common Grackle calls, ML306233]
For BirdNote, I’m Marcus Rosten.
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Senior Producer: Mark Bramhill
Producer: Sam Johnson
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Ariana Remmel
Content Director: Jonese Franklin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Turkey Vulture ML317760061 recorded by Nick Roth. Common Grackle ML306233 recorded by David L. Ross, Jr.. Common Grackle ML615563286 recorded by James R. Hill, III.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2025 BirdNote May 2025
Narrator: Marcus Rosten
ID# RostenM-01-2025-05-29 RostenM-01
Reference:
https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22724320/131484290#assessment-information
Marcus Rosten
Writer NarratorSights & Sounds
