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Difference between revisions of "Boat-tailed Grackle" - BirdForum Opus

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[[Image:Boat-tailed_Grackle.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Male<br />Photo by {{user|David+Roach|David Roach}}<br />Wakodahatchee, Florida, October 2004]]
 
;[[:Category:Quiscalus|Quiscalus]] major
 
;[[:Category:Quiscalus|Quiscalus]] major
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[[Image:Boat-tailed_Grackle.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Male. Photo by David Roach]]
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[[Image:grackle_boat_tailed_f.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Female. Photo by: {{user|nomdeploom|nomdeploom}} <br>Location: Cape Canaveral, [[Florida]], USA]]
 
 
==Identification==
 
==Identification==
 
Males 16-17" (41-43 cm)<br/>
 
Males 16-17" (41-43 cm)<br/>
−
Females 12-13" (30-33 cm)
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Females 12-13" (30-33 cm)<br />
−
 
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Tail very long and keel-shaped<br />
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Tail very long and keel-shaped
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'''Male'''
−
====Male====
 
 
*Black
 
*Black
 
*Iridescent blue on back and breast
 
*Iridescent blue on back and breast
−
*Yellow or brown eyes
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*Yellow or brown eyes<br />
−
====Female====
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[[Image:IMG 84094.JPG|thumb|350px|right|Female<br />Photo by {{user|tetoneon|tetoneon}}<br />East of Fort Myers, [[Florida]], May 2014]]
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'''Female'''
 
*Smaller
 
*Smaller
 
*Brown with paler breast
 
*Brown with paler breast
−
 
 
====Similar species====
 
====Similar species====
 
[[Common Grackle]] smaller; female lacks paler breast.  
 
[[Common Grackle]] smaller; female lacks paler breast.  
−
 
 
Very similar to [[Great-tailed Grackle]]
 
Very similar to [[Great-tailed Grackle]]
 
*Averages shorter-tailed
 
*Averages shorter-tailed
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**White eye on Atlantic coast
 
**White eye on Atlantic coast
 
**Brown eye on Gulf coast
 
**Brown eye on Gulf coast
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==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]].
  
−
==Distribution==
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Only one accepted inland record at [[Braddock Bay Bird Observatory]] in [[New York]].
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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==
 
==Taxonomy==
−
Polytypic. Consists of two subspecies.
 
−
 
 
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.
 
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.
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[[Image:2430705juviebtg3a.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Juvenile<br />Photo by {{user|KC+Foggin|KC Foggin}}<br />Withers Swash, Myrtle Beach, [[South Carolina]],  July 2003]]
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====Subspecies====
 +
This is a [[Dictionary_P-S#P|polytypic]] species, consisting of four subspecies<sup>[[#References|[1]]]</sup>:
 +
*''Q. m. major'':
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:*Coastal [[Texas]] and [[Louisiana ]]
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*''Q. m. alabamensis'':
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:*Coastal [[Mississippi]] to north-western [[Florida]]
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*''Q. m. torreyi'':
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:*Coastal [[New York]] south to north-eastern [[Florida]]
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*''Q. m. westoni'':
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:*[[North Carolina]] to southern [[Florida]]
  
 
==Habitat==
 
==Habitat==
 
Marshes along the coast; in Florida, also on farmlands.
 
Marshes along the coast; in Florida, also on farmlands.
 
==Behaviour==
 
==Behaviour==
−
====Food====
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====Diet====
 +
[[Image:Female-grakle.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Female<br />Photo by {{user|AForns|AForns}}<br />South [[Florida]], March 2008]]
 
Mostly insects and plant matter.  Lesser quantities of aquatic invertebrates and reptiles or amphibians
 
Mostly insects and plant matter.  Lesser quantities of aquatic invertebrates and reptiles or amphibians
−
====Nesting====
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====Breeding====
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3 or 4 pale blue eggs, spotted and scrawled with brown and purple, in 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.
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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====
 
====Vocalisation====
 
Harsh ''jeeb-jeeb-jeeb-jeeb'', unlike the whistles and clucks of the [[Great-tailed Grackle]].
 
Harsh ''jeeb-jeeb-jeeb-jeeb'', unlike the whistles and clucks of the [[Great-tailed Grackle]].
−
 
+
==References==
−
 
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#{{Ref-Clements6thAug14}}
 +
{{ref}}
 
==External Links==
 
==External Links==
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{{GSearch|Quiscalus+major}}  
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{{GSearch|"Quiscalus major" {{!}} "Boat-tailed Grackle"}}
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{{GS-checked}}
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<br />
 +
<br />
  
 
[[Category:Birds]][[Category:Quiscalus]]
 
[[Category:Birds]][[Category:Quiscalus]]

Latest revision as of 20:54, 4 December 2022

Male
Photo by David Roach
Wakodahatchee, Florida, October 2004
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
Photo by tetoneon
East of Fort Myers, Florida, May 2014

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.

Juvenile
Photo by KC Foggin
Withers Swash, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, July 2003

Subspecies

This is a polytypic species, consisting of four subspecies[1]:

  • Q. m. major:
  • Q. m. alabamensis:
  • Q. m. torreyi:
  • Q. m. westoni:

Habitat

Marshes along the coast; in Florida, also on farmlands.

Behaviour

Diet

Female
Photo by AForns
South Florida, March 2008

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

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/

Recommended Citation

External Links

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.

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