Birds · Passeriformes · Icteridae

Great-tailed Grackle

Quiscalus mexicanus

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The great-tailed grackle is an icterid with a long, keel-shaped tail and black plumage with violet sheens in the male, much smaller and brown in the female. It is one of the most characteristic urban birds of Mexico and Central America, where it fills the plazas at dusk with deafening roosts. Its range has expanded enormously over the past century, following agriculture and cities northwards.

Weight

100 g – 265 g

Size

38 cm – 46 cm

Lifespan

15 years

Diet

Omnivore

Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

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Fun facts

It has expanded its range spectacularly over the past century: in 1900 it barely reached southern Texas and today it breeds as far as Canada, following irrigation and built-up areas.
Its vocal repertoire is among the most varied and strident in the Americas: whistles, clicks, metallic shrieks and sounds like machinery, all from the same bird.
Mexican tradition holds that the grackle stole its seven songs from the sea, and that is why it has seven different voices.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Plazas, urban parks, farmland, mangroves and wetlands of the Americas, from the United States to Peru
Sexual maturity: 12 months
Gestation / incubation: 13 days
Litter / clutch size: 3

Sources consulted: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great-tailed_grackle