It's illegal to kill grackles: According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, all wild birds that migrate through or are indigenous to Texas are protected from harm. ... According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website, the common grackle is one of the birds protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Is it legal to kill grackles?

In the US, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, grackles are protected.

Are grackles good for anything?

The gleaming black birds actually play a beneficial role in our society. (Well, besides cleaning up those food crumbs you dropped on the sidewalk.) Grackles, which are a native species in Texas, eat insects, for one. ... “They do eat insects, so that means fewer insects that are eating plants — or us.