Great-tailed Grackle
Quiscalus mexicanus
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
- FamilyIcteridae (New World Blackbirds and Orioles)
- GenusQuiscalus (Typical Grackles)
- SpeciesQuiscalus mexicanus (Great-tailed Grackle)
About the Great-tailed Grackle
The great-tailed grackle or Mexican grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) is a medium-sized, highly social passerine bird native to North and South America. A member of the family Icteridae, it is one of 10 extant species of grackle and is closely related to the boat-tailed grackle and the extinct slender-billed grackle. In the southern and southwestern United States, the grackle is sometimes referred to simply as a "blackbird" or (erroneously) a "crow" due to its glossy black plumage; however, grackles form their own unique genus that is separate from other "blackbirds", such as the red-winged and Brewer's blackbirds, despite being in the same family (Icteridae). Superficially, Brewer's blackbird is one of the most visually similar species to grackles.
In some parts of Mexico, the grackle is sometimes referred to in Spanish as cuervo ("raven"; "crow"), although it is not a member of the crow genus (Corvus) nor of their family (Corvidae). The great-tailed grackle was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the crows in the genus Corvus and coined the... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Great-tailed Grackle in Everglades National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Everglades National Park
Boat-tailed Grackle
Quiscalus major
Common Grackle
Quiscalus quiscula
Red-winged Blackbird
Agelaius phoeniceus
Eastern Meadowlark
Sturnella magna
Brown-headed Cowbird
Molothrus ater
Shiny Cowbird
Molothrus bonariensis
Bronzed Cowbird
Molothrus aeneus
Bobolink
Dolichonyx oryzivorus
Baltimore Oriole
Icterus galbula
Spot-breasted Oriole
Icterus pectoralis
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus
Brewer's Blackbird
Euphagus cyanocephalus
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.