- Quiscalus lugubris
Description
24-28 cm. Male is black with a metallic sheen that is either green, violet, or steel-blue. It has a tail that is V-shaped and whitish eyes. The female has grayish underside, darker brownish-gray upperside and a light supercilium at least on some islands, while she is darker and even can have some glossy black areas on other islands. Male is larger than female.
Distribution
Present in the Lesser Antilles from Anguilla and south - probably introduced on some of the northern islands including Antigua and Barbuda. Outside the Caribbean, also present on Trinidad, and Eastern Colombia through Northern Venezuela (including islands such as Isla Margarita etc), the Guianas, and North-Eastern Brazil.
Taxonomy
Clements Checklist mentions 8 subspecies. According to Raffaele1, the 5 Caribbean subspecies have different song dialects, and there is some differences in female plumage as well. Prime suspect for a future split?
Habitat
Limited to open areas, including residential.
References
- Raffaele et al. 1998. Birds of the West Indies. Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 0713649054
