Great-tailed Grackle
Quiscalus mexicanus
- 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 →
Closest Relatives at Tikal National Park
Montezuma Oropendola
Psarocolius montezuma
Melodious Blackbird
Dives dives
Black-cowled Oriole
Icterus prosthemelas
Baltimore Oriole
Icterus galbula
Giant Cowbird
Molothrus oryzivorus
Orchard Oriole
Icterus spurius
Yellow-billed Cacique
Amblycercus holosericeus
Yellow-tailed Oriole
Icterus mesomelas
Bronzed Cowbird
Molothrus aeneus
Altamira Oriole
Icterus gularis
Red-winged Blackbird
Agelaius phoeniceus
Brown Jay
Psilorhinus morio
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Great-tailed Grackle in Tikal National Park?
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Great-tailed Grackle sighting in Tikal National Park, based on 350 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Great-tailed Grackle in Tikal National Park?
April has the highest sighting rate for Great-tailed Grackle in Tikal National Park in our monthly data.