Great-tailed Grackle

Quiscalus mexicanus

Audubon Illustration

John James Audubon, Birds of America (1827-1838). Public domain.

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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).

Source: Wikipedia

Classification

Scientific name: Quiscalus mexicanus
Family: Troupials and Allies
Order: Passeriformes

Similar species

Other members of the troupials and allies family recorded in North America — a useful place to start if you are not certain of your identification.

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