Great-Tailed Grackle
Quiscalus mexicanus
Habitat
Ground
Diet
Invertebrate
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
160 g
About This Species
Look around parking lots, agricultural fields, wetland edges, and urban parks through much of the southern and central United States, Mexico, and Central America, where this large, glossy blackbird forages on the ground in noisy, conspicuous groups. Males are easily recognized by their long, keel-shaped tail and iridescent black plumage, while the smaller brown females are less flashy; both sexes produce an unusually varied and loud repertoire of whistles, clacks, and squeaks. It can be seen year-round in much of its range and is often most active and vocal around communal roosts at dawn and dusk.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- This is a bold, human-tolerant species in most urban and agricultural settings, so a comfortable viewing distance of a few metres is usually enough without causing disturbance, though nests should still not be approached closely during the breeding season.
- As a native species in the US, it is protected under federal migratory bird law, so nests, eggs, and young may not be disturbed or removed even where the bird itself is considered a nuisance around buildings or crops.
- Its range has been expanding northward and westward in recent decades, so local familiarity with the species can vary even within a single region.
Seasonal Activity
3,687,688 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Icteridae
Traits
- Diet
- Invertebrate
- Foraging
- Ground
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 160 g
Photo
Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.