not sure where they saw it, but if i saw it around here, i'd call it as Common Grackle
they do have that amount of brown but it's a play of light type of thing where most of the time they just look like an all-over black bird until the light is striking their plumage at the right angle
Yeah, the iridescent colors can really trick you. They are fun little creatures.
That's what I'm going with, a Common Grackle. He appears to check all the boxes, as far as I know. Edit. This is in North Mississippi.