Great-tailed Grackle - BirdForum Opus

Male, subspecies nelsoni
Photo © by Joseph Morlan
Pacifica, California, USA 26 April 2020

Quiscalus mexicanus

Identification

Female
Photo © by Joseph Morlan
San Francisco, California, USA, 3 April 2021

A large (40cm) totally black bird (M) with a long, sharp bill and an impressively long tail that is held vertically in flight, like a boat rudder. The yellow eye is diagnostic. The plumage of the male shows many colors in sunlight due to iridescence; blues and greens predominate.

The female is brown with lighter underparts, and with a shorter tail.

Similar Species

Juvenile
Photo © by bobsofpa
Kenedy County, Texas, USA, April 2005

On Gulf Coast, can be distinguished from Boat-tailed Grackle by eye color.

Distribution

Male, Subspecies Q. m. prosopidicola
Photo © by Stanley Jones
Galveston Island, Galveston, Texas, USA, 4 May 2021

In the United States found from southern California east to Iowa south to Louisiana. Also found throughout Mexico and Central America south to Peru. Continues to expand range including into Northern California.

Taxonomy

Photo © by Stanley Jones
Veterans Park and Athletic Complex, College Station, Brazos County, Texas, April 2024

Formerly lumped with Boat-tailed Grackle

Subspecies

This is a polytypic species consisting of eight subspecies^[1]:

• Q. m. nelsoni:

• South-eastern California to southern Arizona and western Mexico (north-eastern Baja California and southern Sonora)

• Q. m. monsoni:

• South-eastern Arizona to western Texas and Mexican Plateau to Jalisco and Guanajuato

• Q. m. prosopidicola:

• South-eastern New Mexico to southern Texas, Coahuila, San Luis Potosí and southern Tamaulipas

• Q. m. graysoni:

• Coastal north-western Mexico (Sinaloa)

• Q. m. obscurus:

• Coastal south-western Mexico (Nayarit to Guerrero)

• Q. m. mexicanus:

• Southern Mexico (eastern Jalisco and San Luis Potosí) to northern Nicaragua

• Q. m. loweryi:

• Coastal Yucatán Peninsula, Belize and adjacent offshore islands

• Q. m. peruvianus:

• Pacific coast of Costa Rica to north-western Peru and north-western Venezuela

Habitat

They can be found in a wide variety of habitats; marshes, wetlands, hill bushy areas, golf courses, gardens, and shopping malls.

Behaviour

In hot areas they will drink from any water available including swimming pools, and they may even take a voluntary swim!

They are social, particularly at dusk when they gather in sizeable flocks to roost in trees.

Diet

Great-tailed grackles frequent urban landscapes, often feeding in highly-developed areas such as parking lots. They will eat almost anything.

Vocalisation

They can be noisy, especially during breeding displays, when the male issues loud calls at what looks to be great physical effort.

Listen to a voice clip
Recording © by Joseph Morlan
Pacifica, California, 26 April 2020

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. BirdForum Member Observations
3. Johnson, K. and B. D. Peer (2020). Great-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.grtgra.01
4. Fraga, R. (2020). Great-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/62287 on 2 May 2020).

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Great-tailed Grackle. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 12 October 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Great-tailed_Grackle

External Links

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