Great-tailed grackle

Great-tailed grackle
Male, Honduras
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Icteridae
Genus: Quiscalus
Species:
Q. mexicanus
Binomial name
Quiscalus mexicanus
(JF Gmelin, 1788)
Range of Quiscalus mexicanus
Female, Guatemala

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.[2] In the southern and southwestern United States, the grackle is sometimes referred to simply as a "blackbird" or (erroneously) a "crow"[3] 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 México, 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).

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2018). "Quiscalus mexicanus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22724308A132174807. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22724308A132174807.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ Powell, A. F. L. A.; Barker, F. K.; Lanyon, S. M. (November 2008). "A complete species level phylogeny of the grackles (Quiscalus spp.), including the extinct slender-billed grackle, inferred from mitochondrial DNA" (PDF). The Condor. 110 (4): 718–728. doi:10.1525/cond.2008.8633. S2CID 85992549. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-24.
  3. ^ Lomax, J.N. (2015-02-19). "Eight Reasons Grackles are Awesome". Texas Monthly. Archived from the original on 2022-08-10. Retrieved February 19, 2015.*