Common Grackle... Iridescent beauty in the sun!

My bird book says that grackles "arrive from the South early in spring and depart late in the fall." Since spring hasn't officially arrived yet, I was a bit surprised to see these familiar visitors at my feeders today. The first time I posted a photo of a grackle on Flickr, I made a comment about them not being particularly pretty birds to which my friend "wolfpix" responded that he thought they were beautiful. When seen in full sun, the iridescent feathers of this bird do indeed make him a beauty. (and if you want to see some lovely nature photos, visit my friend's Flickr stream to have a look)