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[[Image:2430705juviebtg3a.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Juvenile<br />Photo by {{user|KCFoggin|KCFoggin}}<br />Withers Swash, Myrtle Beach, [[South Carolina]], July 2003]] | [[Image:2430705juviebtg3a.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Juvenile<br />Photo by {{user|KCFoggin|KCFoggin}}<br />Withers Swash, Myrtle Beach, [[South Carolina]], July 2003]] | ||
====Subspecies<sup>[[#References|[1]]]</sup>==== | ====Subspecies<sup>[[#References|[1]]]</sup>==== | ||
| − | This is a [[ | + | This is a [[Dictionary_P-S#P|polytypic]] species, consisting of four subspecies: |
*''Q. m. major'': | *''Q. m. major'': | ||
:*Coastal [[Texas]] and [[Louisiana ]] | :*Coastal [[Texas]] and [[Louisiana ]] | ||
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*''Q. m. westoni'': | *''Q. m. westoni'': | ||
:*[[North Carolina]] to southern [[Florida]] | :*[[North Carolina]] to southern [[Florida]] | ||
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==Habitat== | ==Habitat== | ||
Marshes along the coast; in Florida, also on farmlands. | Marshes along the coast; in Florida, also on farmlands. | ||
Revision as of 15:09, 27 June 2014
- Quiscalus major
Identification
Males 16-17" (41-43 cm)
Females 12-13" (30-33 cm)
Tail very long and keel-shaped
Male
- Black
- Iridescent blue on back and breast
- Yellow or brown eyes
Female
- Smaller
- Brown with paler breast
Similar species
Common Grackle smaller; female lacks paler breast. Very similar to Great-tailed Grackle
- Averages shorter-tailed
- Rounder headed
- Relatively long legs
- Long slender bill
- Distinctive voice
- Eye color differs
- White eye on Atlantic coast
- Brown eye on Gulf coast
Distribution
Resident along coasts from New Jersey south and west to Louisiana; also inland in peninsular Florida. Rare but regular breeder north along coast to Massachusetts.
Only one accepted inland record at Braddock Bay Bird Observatory in New York.
Taxonomy
This species and its close relative the Great-tailed Grackle were thought to be a single species until it was found that both nest in southwestern Louisiana without interbreeding.
Subspecies[1]
This is a polytypic species, consisting of four subspecies:
- Q. m. major:
- Q. m. alabamensis:
- Coastal Mississippi to north-western Florida
- Q. m. torreyi:
- Q. m. westoni:
- North Carolina to southern Florida
Habitat
Marshes along the coast; in Florida, also on farmlands.
Behaviour
Diet
Mostly insects and plant matter. Lesser quantities of aquatic invertebrates and reptiles or amphibians
Breeding
The clutch consists of 3 or 4 pale blue eggs, spotted and scrawled with brown and purple. The nest is a bulky cup of grass, mud, and decayed vegetation placed from 2 to 10' (60 cm to 3 m) up in marsh grass or bushes.
Vocalisation
Harsh jeeb-jeeb-jeeb-jeeb, unlike the whistles and clucks of the Great-tailed Grackle.
References
- Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Boat-tailed Grackle. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 28 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Boat-tailed_Grackle
