Okay 
, the list of birds that can be shot without a license or federal permit with multiple approvals and documentation ... appears rather short these days. Maybe it always was. Found the 2023 list and surprised to see the Common Grackle on the list of protected migratory birds ... even AI chat didn't get the answer right when I ran the question. IMHO, the Common Grackle is an outright onery and meanie of a bird from my observations since childhood. Its a pest bird but my opinion matters little to the federal gov't. How in the world did this black bandit make it on the list ... no shortage of them in my bubble of living.
So pest birds at this point boil down to the House Sparrow, European Starling, Eurasian Collared Dove, and Pigeon (Rock Common)? Heck, a house cat has more hunting rights than I do!
Is my current list of pest birds look correct? 
Some other observations in my area - no shortage of birds of prey, specifically Hawks and Eagles. I've seen a huge decline in pheasants and rabbits over decades... drive down SD roads and no problem with a high count of predators on fence, utility polls, or dead windrow trees etc. Even see some have moved into towns. American Robin, huge numbers, now have several pairs and multiple territorial disputes on the lawn and in the trees - fields ... actually that is what prompted me to look at the protected list in the first place and see if they had been removed - nope.
, the list of birds that can be shot without a license or federal permit with multiple approvals and documentation ... appears rather short these days. Maybe it always was. Found the 2023 list and surprised to see the Common Grackle on the list of protected migratory birds ... even AI chat didn't get the answer right when I ran the question. IMHO, the Common Grackle is an outright onery and meanie of a bird from my observations since childhood. Its a pest bird but my opinion matters little to the federal gov't. How in the world did this black bandit make it on the list ... no shortage of them in my bubble of living.So pest birds at this point boil down to the House Sparrow, European Starling, Eurasian Collared Dove, and Pigeon (Rock Common)? Heck, a house cat has more hunting rights than I do!
Is my current list of pest birds look correct? Some other observations in my area - no shortage of birds of prey, specifically Hawks and Eagles. I've seen a huge decline in pheasants and rabbits over decades... drive down SD roads and no problem with a high count of predators on fence, utility polls, or dead windrow trees etc. Even see some have moved into towns. American Robin, huge numbers, now have several pairs and multiple territorial disputes on the lawn and in the trees - fields ... actually that is what prompted me to look at the protected list in the first place and see if they had been removed - nope.
